


Cas Got Your Tongue?

by Vanya_Instance



Category: Supernatural
Genre: A little canon divergent, Angels are Dicks, Asexual Castiel, Asexual Relationship, BAMF Castiel, Case Fic, Castiel is a Softie, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Hunters & Hunting, Implied/Referenced Torture, Post-Season 5, Romance, ace - Freeform, basically set around the time when Raphael wants to restart the Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-17 19:04:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 49
Words: 60,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4677860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanya_Instance/pseuds/Vanya_Instance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Go into a small town in the middle of nowhere, gank a few demons, save the day and leave. It was meant to be a routine case for Sam and Dean. Easy as pie.<br/>They didn’t intend to start a chain reaction that would cause one of their biggest battles against the supernatural yet. But there were a few things Sam and Dean didn’t intend to do.<br/>They weren’t supposed to get a supernatural bounty placed on their heads. They didn’t mean to get so many hunters involved.<br/>And they most certainly did not intend for Castiel fall in love.<br/>Especially with an angel who appears to have been cast out from heaven. </p><p>Life just got a hell of a lot harder for the Winchester boys.<br/>But hey, what’s new?<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In ‘Cas Got Your Tongue?’ I have decided to follow the more religiously accurate views of Heaven’s Chorus as opposed to the ‘Supernatural’ view of Heaven’s Chorus.  
> In the show, Castiel is portrayed as a ‘Seraph’, a high level angel, a soldier. However in popular religious belief Seraph’s are in actuality the highest orders of angels who are merely the caretakers of God’s throne and shout praises. They never visit earth and they are not warrior angels. If anything in this work Castiel is a ‘Power’ or an ‘Authority’, a class of warrior angels completely loyal to God. They are sent to earth to ensure power is handed out fairly and they do God’s bidding.  
> As a result of this please do not be confused when Castiel does not refer to himself as a Seraph, I have always just believed that this is a more accurate description and therefore how he will be portrayed.
> 
> Happy Reading!
> 
> All OC’s are my own, everything else belongs to their respective creators. I do not claim their original show or characters as my own. I write purely for pleasure and gain no profit from this.

It wasn’t obvious at first. The disappearances seemed random. They were just another series of unfortunate events in the towns that had a larger cattle population than people.

Of course the disappearances were noted, small articles in the corner of pages, minimal words, ‘our thoughts are with the family’, ‘we pray for their safe return’. No one would have seen the correlation between them all. Or at least no one who wasn’t looking for it. And as the two men drove into town in their classic Chevy Impala, no one need find the correlation now that they were on the case.

Sam and Dean Winchester had red-flagged this small town in the back-end of nowhere after reading a small article in one of the larger county newspapers. It mentioned in a short paragraph the regretful disappearance of a young man. It had been particularly hard for the small community as another young man had disappeared that very week from the same town.  That was the brother’s first tip. A little customary research had revealed a number of similar disappearances had been going on in small towns like this, all over the states, for almost a year, perhaps even longer.

The disappearances weren’t picked up on at first. The lack of connecting factors between those who disappeared had effectively thrown people off the scent. This was a blessing and a curse for the Winchesters. Whoever or whatever was behind the disappearances wouldn’t  expect anyone to look into the case, but with no factors regarding age, gender or background connecting the victims the brothers quickly found themselves at a loss. Eager to not let this case slip through their fingers Sam and Dean decided to travel to the town which had experienced the most recent disappearances.

As Dean drove his baby into the motel carpark Sam finally dragged his face away from the case notes he had gathered.

‘Someone around here has to have some idea what is going on with these disappearances,’ Sam said as he reshuffled his notes back into their order.

‘I bet they do Sammy, let’s go.’ Dean replied, eager to get out of the car they had been stuck in for the past seven hours.

Dean got out of the car. He stretched his arms slowly upwards and sighed in relief as his back cracked. Sam did the same but put on less of a show. His legs were cramping from sitting so long and his ears were glad for the break in mullet rock. There was only so long one wanted to listen to ‘Cherry Pie’ with the volume cranked up to eleven. Dean’s singing had been icing on the proverbial deafening cake.

The brothers got their bags from the trunk and threw them quickly into their room. Dean suggested going to the town’s one diner to see if they could hear any gossip or extract some information from the locals. Sam agreed. He didn’t think he could face wearing his stuffy ‘FBI’ suit after a whole day of melting in the car.

The diner was only a few blocks away and so Sam and Dean decided to forgo the Impala and instead walk, taking the opportunity to stretch their legs and get a little fresh air. Once they entered the diner they were greeted by a kindly lady behind the counter who showed them to their seats and took their order. She told them that it would be there in a just a moment.

Unsurprisingly the little diner was filled with idle gossip. Within ten minutes of listening Sam learnt that the pastor was sleeping with the baker’s daughter, the doctor’s son had been thrown out of college for drug dealing and that young Mary-Lou from across the street had said her first words today, all very interesting but nothing of much value. He smiled as the server placed some coffee and a salad in front of him and a burger in front of his brother. She smiled at his eye-rolling before leaving them to enjoy their meal. Sam and Dean ate in companionable silence as they listened out for any prospective information.

Dean cleared his throat a little and jerked his head towards the two elderly women talking in the booth beside them.

The two elderly women were gossiping over their coffee.

‘Oh it’s must be terrible for the family,’ said one.

‘Ooh yes, my grandson went to school with the boys. He said he’d seen Brad just the day before. He was talking Grace on a date the day he disappeared.’

‘That poor boy and poor Grace! She must be feeling terrible. I’ll have to go visit his poor Momma tomorrow. I’ll pay Grace a visit on my way back.’

Sam listened in confusion but Dean raised a questioning eyebrow. He leant forward, over the table, voice lowered.

‘Come on Sammy, our missing person goes on a date before he disappears? That’s perfect for us, we just need to see this girl, ask if he’d been acting strange before he disappeared. Boom. We’ve got a lead.’

Sam looked unconvinced, ‘I don’t know Dean. This is a pretty small town. I think we should avoid interviewing people for as long as possible. If we say the wrong thing to the wrong person then the whole town might clam up.’

Dean groaned. Sam was right, small towns were always in each other’s pockets. He’d been on too many cases where the whole town ganged up against them because they had said the wrong thing to the wrong person.

Instead the safest course of action was to head back to the motel and see what a little research could dig up. Dean threw down the right amount of bills before he and Sam left the diner. They made their way back to the motel.

As they walked through the entrance of the motel, back to their room, Dean noticed something on his car. He grumbled loudly. Some idiot had placed a leaflet under the windshield wiper of his prized car. Tearing it out, Dean complained a little more about someone treating his baby so carelessly but his grumbling ceased when he read the leaflet.

 ‘Hey Sammy, when did the first person disappear in this town?’

‘About three weeks ago. Why?’

‘I think I’ve found our place where the victims have been disappearing.’

Sam looked at the leaflet Dean had been reading. It was an ad for a carnival that was in town. A carnival that had opened on the day the first victim disappeared.

‘Trudy Cosgrove, the first person reported missing had three young children. It wouldn’t have been surprising for them to go to the carnival.’ Sam said.

‘Where else would you go in a hick town like this for a date?’ Dean countered.

Finally. Some progress.

Sam and Dean spent the rest of the evening inside the musty motel room researching the carnival which was in town, tracking its previous movements, checking to see if there was any proof the mysterious carnival really did have any relation to those disappeared.

Soon a clear pattern emerged. The carnival would arrive at a small town, stay for two weeks before move on, setting up only a few days later in another small town on the other side of the country. The pattern repeated and the brother’s found that the carnival’s movements linked the missing person’s reports perfectly.

They had found their first solid link to the disappearances but that wasn’t the first thing on Sam’s mind.

‘Dean, look at this a moment.’ Sam said hesitantly, ‘I’ve been tracking the movements of this carnival back a year since the disappearances seem to have started. The carnival comes to town, people go missing, the carnival leaves town and the disappearances stop. It can’t be a coincidence.’

‘Yeah, well Sammy maybe some people want to escape from these little towns. Join a carnival. Live the Carnie life,’ said Dean. ‘I wouldn’t mind it. I’d love to meet one of those sword swallowers. Think of the possibilities. Get your freak on with some freaks. What do you say?’ He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

‘Shut up Dean. Over seventy people have been reported missing over the past year, I seriously doubt all of them ran away to join one carnival. But not only that, take a look at this.’

Sam showed Dean a map he had made showing each town the carnival had visited, when and for how long.

‘The carnival usually stays in a town for two weeks and no more. It’s plenty of time for one or two people to go missing without suspicion being called upon them,’ Sam said.

With his finger, Dean traced the route that the carnival had taken. Once he reached the most recent point, the town where they were currently in he frowned, ‘The carnival’s been here for almost a month. Why has it not moved on yet?’

‘Exactly’ said Sam as he furrowed his brow. The break in the pattern was never going to be good news.

‘Well,’ Dean said, ‘I don’t think research is going to help us right now. I suggest we go down to that carnival and check it out.’

Sam reluctantly found he agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam and Dean arrived at the carnival not long after they had decided to check it out. That was one of the perks of being in a small town, fewer miles to travel.

The brothers bought their tickets and began their search. A quick walk around the carnival revealed no spiritual activity. The EMF meter didn’t even so much as twitch.

The carnival seemed like a fun day out, enjoyable for all the family. There was cotton candy and large stuffed toys galore. The scariest thing in the whole place seemed to be hot dogs. Or at least they were certainly the most suspicious. Sam doubted that even Dean was brave enough to try a carnival hot dog.

The carnival was divided into two sections. There was the area for the public, where all the games and rides were situated, and the ‘Staff Only’ section, which contained tents and caravans and trucks. It seemed innocent enough, but with the main area of the carnival proving to be free from any supernatural activity Sam and Dean decided to check out the ‘Staff Only’ area.

The only thing that looked out of place was the large tent in the centre of the ‘Staff Only’ area. It was large, too large for someone to sleep in and too large to store anything required for the carnival. As the brothers made their way towards the large tent they passed a number of occupied tents. Their near silent treads aided them in passing by unnoticed.

Sam reached into his jacket as he walked towards the large tent. He was going to check the EMF meter but he found he didn’t need to. They were still at least ten metres away from the tent when it revealed something that the brothers did not wish to encounter.

The overwhelming smell of sulphur; pungent and strong. It was an unwelcomingly familiar scent.

The carnival was crawling with demons.                                                    

Dean cursed silently.

Sam elbowed Dean and pointed to a man who was standing near the large tent. To the untrained observer he was just taking a quick smoke break, he looked relaxed and casual, bored even. To the trained observer, Sam and Dean, for instance, it was clear as day. The man was a guard. There had to be something in that tent.

The man looked unassuming, short and bald he looked like an investment banker had gotten lost and ended up joining a carnival but Dean would bet his baby that the man was possessed by a demon. Anyone else would have at least been affected by the strong smell of sulphur.

Something clicked in Dean’s mind.

‘Hey Sammy,’ he whispered. ‘I know the man at the tent. He’s one of our missing persons. He was reported missing in a small town in Texas a few months ago.’

‘I knew I recognised some of the carnival workers. They’re all missing persons.’

‘I told you they all joined the carnival,’ Dean whispered jokingly, ‘but did you believe me? Nope.’

‘Yeah but I don’t think they’re all here for the wonderful Carny Life. They have to be possessed.’

‘Well, ain’t that just friggin’ great’, Dean grumbled.

The brothers began to make their way from the staff area back to the public area. At least now they knew what had happened to all the missing people.

Only now they had to figure out why they were here.

Deciding that work would be done twice as quickly if they investigated separately the brothers split up to look around for any more clues as to what may be going on. Sam took the left, Dean took the right. Their searching was expert, quick and subtle. They had completed their brief look around in just over half an hour.

Amongst the hordes of excited townspeople, screaming children, loud couples and carnival music it was not easy for the brothers to find out as much as they had wished to. Overhearing anything was pretty much out of the question. Despite this Sam’s keen eyes and ears picked up a few things out of the ordinary that he made sure to remember.

When the brothers met up again in the car they quickly exchanged what they saw, a demon here, a sigil there, anything of any interest or relevance to the case.

Sam remembered something he had saw out of place.

‘I saw a whole group of people who had been reported missing, and they’ve all been possessed too,’ Sam told Dean. ‘But I’m not overly surprised at that. There doesn’t seem to be a damn person working in this place that isn’t a demon suit. You think that they would be more subtle about wearing someone who’s being looked for by the cops.’

Dean nodded in agreement. He had only seen demons on the staff as well all reported missing persons.

‘Did you see some of them had white sticks and sunglasses?’ Dean asked. It was the one thing of note he had tried to remember.

‘I did actually,’ Sam replied, ‘I just figured it was a good way for them to disguise their black eyes. So, you know, people don’t freak out. Demons seem to have superior sight when their eyes are black, maybe they pretend to be blind so they can reveal their true eyes all the time. I saw a whole bunch of them leaving the ‘Staff Only’ tent whenever we had just split up to look about, I didn’t get to see what was in there though. I was too far away to see anything.’

Dean’s brow furrowed, he knew something fishy was going on. He started the Impala and drove out of the carnival’s impromptu parking lot, a large neighbouring field, before setting back to the motel.

Sam and Dean were more than a little frustrated when they returned from the carnival. That was unsurprising. They had returned with more questions than they had started with, and no answers to speak of. Once again they locked themselves in their crappy motel room for food and further research.

‘We’ve been staring at these damn books for hours.’ Dean grumbled. He had quickly grown tired and frustrated by the lack of results. ‘I say we go back there and gank those sons of bitches. Get it over with.’

Sam snorted at his brother’s impatience, ‘There’s like over seventy demons, Dean. That’s just too many for the two of us. We just need to find out what is keeping the carnival here for so long. Maybe it’ll give us a clue how to defeat them.’

Dean groaned but begrudgingly picked up the weather reports for the past two months muttering something under his breath that sounded remarkably like, ‘mass exorcisms.’ Despite his complaints Dean managed to work valiantly for another few hours before cracking open a couple of beers and telling Sam what he’d found so far.

‘I looked up every major town event over the past two months. The only thing of any relevance I could find was a town wide power cut about a month ago.’

‘Around the same time the carnival came to town,’ Sam answered, sipping at his cold beer.

‘Exactly, there were complaints about electric shortages and flickering lights. The locals put it down to a large storm which had hit that night.’

‘But that doesn’t sound like demon activity at all that’s more like angelic activity.’

‘Yup,’ Dean sighed, defeated for the moment by his research. He drained the rest of his beer before opening a new one and taking a large swing of that too.

The brothers sat in silence for a moment, too caught up in considering their case to converse. After a little while it was obvious they weren’t going to be struck by sudden inspiration and it became clear that a fresh pair of ears would do a world of good.

At a loss at what to do, the brothers called Bobby.

‘Hey Bobby,’ Sam said, holding his cell phone with his shoulder as he and Dean tried to sort out their research in a more presentable way.

‘Hey Sam,’ was Bobby’s return greeting. ‘How’s your case going? Got any leads yet?’

‘We’ve found out a few things but we’re having trouble making sense of it all.’

‘Well, anything I can do to help, boys.’

Sam smiled gratefully, ‘Thanks Bobby.’

Sam and Dean spent an hour filling him in on the case, Sam relaying the information as Dean passed him related sheets and reports. Once Bobby was suitably up to date he said what Dean had said a few hours previous,

 ‘I dunno boys, that weather report makes it sound more like angelic presence than a demon’s work to me.’

‘We had been thinking the same thing,’ Sam admitted.

‘It’s not unusual for an angel to be attracted by demonic activity or vice versa. They always want to be one step ahead of the other so a little crossover is inevitable. You said that the carnival arrived a month ago, and the power outages happened around the same time. It’s definitely too much to be a coincidence, but maybe an angel was sent to check it out and they didn’t find any interest in it. There hasn’t been any angelic activity since. It wouldn’t be the first time the angels turned a blind eye to events on earth.’

Dean snorted, hearing what Bobby had said even though the cell wasn’t on speaker. Bobby continued,

‘Maybe you should ask your resident angel, I’m sure he’d be all too willing to help you boys out on a case that’s got you stumped.’

‘Thanks Bobby, we’ll do that.’ Sam said ending the call.

Maybe Castiel had some inside scoop on heavens activities and could tell the brothers what the angels were doing here in the first place.

The brothers deserved an answer to their prayers.

But that didn’t mean it would be easy to get Castiel involved.


	3. Chapter 3

It was easier than anticipated to contact Castiel, one quick prayer, a suspenseful wait and he was in the room, preluded only by the distant fluttering of wings. It had been a while since Castiel had answered their prayers so easily. Things seemed to be heating up in heaven, and Castiel was right there in the middle of it.

Castiel seemed irked that Dean and Sam had dragged him, once again from his celestial duties but once filled in he agreed to assist in their latest case. He told them what little he knew for sure.

‘As far as my knowledge extends, heaven has not sent anyone to this part of Earth. But heaven of late has been secretive. I cannot guarantee that the activities are unrelated to an angelic presence but I think it unlikely,’ Castiel said. His tone was dismissive. It was clear from it that he thought angels would have better things to be doing with their time than investigating a demonic carnival.

Sam looked unconvinced but it seemed their lack of progress gave him no choice but to give into his brother’s wishes.

‘Maybe we should go and check out the carnival one more time to see what is really going on. Look inside that tent to see what is so important that the demons are guarding it,’ Sam said slowly.

Dean’s face lit up with excitement. Finally. He had been waiting all day to go back to the carnival. His limbs were stiff from all the sitting and his head ached from staring at the laptop screen, but he knew that a little demon ganking would sort that. Some good old fashioned exercise would do him the world of good.

More cautious than the human he was sitting beside, Castiel did not look as confident nor as eager as Dean. Seventy or more demons would be not easy number to defend themselves against, and that was only the brothers conservative estimate, there could be far more demons. The humans and the angel would be in the figurative scorpion pit. There was no room for mistakes. Despite his obvious reservations Castiel did not offer up any resistance. He doubted that pointing out the brother’s lack of preparedness would deter them anyway.

A few hours after deciding to return to the carnival, when they were sure it was closed for the night and that there would be no civilians about, the two men and the angel made their way into the carnival grounds. As expected they were met by demons but they were easily disposed of expertly, silently and without struggle. They didn’t even get a chance to raise the alert.

When the demons were defeated, Sam and Dean had the chance to quickly examine the bodies. Dean pointed to their eyes. Castiel was confused but Sam understood. The demons lying on the ground were not wearing sunglasses. But they were reported missing persons.

With no time to ponder the significance of the demons that were feigning blindness the team had to move on. They made their way quickly around the area, scoping it out to make sure that it was clear. They split up to look around but the carnival was dead at night, there was not a single demon to be found. The main area of the carnival had not seemed to contain anything out of the ordinary. The ‘Staff Only’ area revealed little as well, only the occasional light in a caravan which stopped the carnival from looking completely deserted.

The only place left to look was in the mysterious tent.

Finally the brothers and the angel reached the tent. It had taken little longer than anticipated to find in the dark. There was a similar tent only one hundred yards away from it which had caused a little confusion, but the other tent was a little smaller than the one Sam and Dean were interested in. Bypassing the similar tent, which upon closer inspection had a sign that read ‘Private, Keep Out’ and reuniting to look around a little, the brothers found their intended destination easily and without the use of a flashlight.

Wishing to dispose of any guards they found the brothers and Castiel checked the perimeter of the tent. It was large so to save time Sam and Dean took the left side of the tent whilst Castiel took the right.

As they walked in silence Sam and Dean observed the tent. Its dark silhouette made an imposing figure. It seemed to block out the moonlight with its vast size. In the still of the night, anything could have been hiding in the pitch black shadows. And something was.

Demons.

Whilst they had been fairly silent in making their way around the carnival the presence of the corpses at the entrance had meant it was only a matter of time before the other demons were alerted of their presence. The brothers were ambushed before they even approached the tent entrance. Hearing the quiet scuffle Castiel appeared beside them, ready to assist in the fighting. It was a life-saving move as the brothers were already surrounded. 

Castiel, Sam and Dean had no choice but to fight their way out.

Some of the demons surrounding the team were ones which Sam and Dean had seen before. Even in the pale light of the moon they recognised faces from the missing person reports. The sunglasses and white sticks held by some of the demons were not enough to disguise them.

A quiet skirmish broke out as the demons rushed the team. Sam and Dean pulled out their guns, ready for action. A quick shot to the heart and the demons were slowed but not out of the fight, the bullets weren’t enough to take them out, not normal bullets at least. The demons weren’t deterred by the bullets, they continued their attack. Dean managed to throw his gun to the ground and stab the demon in front of him with the Demon-Blade. It fell to the ground screaming.

The quiet skirmish wasn’t so quiet anymore.

If the brother’s guns hadn’t attracted the attention of more demons then the screams sure as hell had. In a blink of an eye the demons had back-up.

Sam yelled for Dean to look out as a Demon rushed him from behind but Dean turned quickly and countered. The blade in his hand now embedded in the demon’s chest.

Castiel was disposing of Demons quickly and efficiently with his Angel Blade in a blur of movement that would have seemed graceful if it wasn’t so clearly violent in its intentions.

Sam had an Angel Blade of his own that he and his brother had gotten from the fall of Gabriel. His movements weren’t as naturally harmonious with the blade. Sam wielded it like a knife whereas to Castiel the Angel Blade was an extension of his arm. But it didn’t stop Sam from getting results. Who cared about beauty when you’re stabbing a demon through the chest? Sam certainly didn’t as he thrust the blade into a charging demon’s throat. The demon’s yells grew watery before stopping completely. Sam lowered the knife, breathing heavily.

Dean brought down the last demon. Using the Demon-Blade he slashed across its throat. With a shudder of light from the wound, the demon fell to the ground. The impact of the fall knocked its sunglasses off. Dean couldn’t help but reel back a little in shock. The sight before him had definitely not been expected.

The demon’s eyes had been burned out.

As the brother’s regained their breath they looked at each other meaningfully. This time even Castiel understood their meaning. Only one thing they knew of could burn eyes out like that.

Angels.

‘Did you see their eyes?’ Dean panted out somewhat unnecessarily, but Sam nodded regardless.

Bobby was right about angels and demons attracting each other but he had gotten it the wrong way around.

It was the presence of angels that had attracted the demons.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam, Dean and Castiel stood in front of the tent, unsure of their next actions. 

It was Castiel who finally broke the silence.

‘At least we now know why the demons have remained in this town for over a month. It’s the angelic presence. You would be in no hurry to leave when you have been gifted with an unlimited connection to heaven and its knowledge.’

The brothers remained silent, unsure how to respond. They were out of their comfort zone. The Winchesters weren’t famed for their brilliant track record with angels.

Assuming that their silence was a sign to continue Castiel did just that.

‘There are only two possibilities as to what is in the tent before us. It may be that there is an angel in the tent who has joined the side of the demons. Or, there may be an angel in the tent who has refused to give in and therefore is being ‘persuaded’ into giving information against their will.’

‘You mean tortured,’ said Dean bluntly.

Castiel nodded.

‘Either way heaven’s secrets are being shared,’ he said. That didn’t sound like a good thing.

‘How can we be sure that there is an angel in that tent? Maybe we’ve been jumping the gun a little. I mean, we don’t know for sure what’s in there.’ Sam said.

‘The tent before us is covered in Enochian wards. The wards are glowing like a beacon to show they are in use.  I can see them clearly. I will not be able to enter the tent, nor will any angel inside be able to exit,’ Castiel replied.

Sam and Dean nodded in almost perfect unison, they understood. Left without the backup of the angel they needed to be vigilant, there was a chance that the angel would be on the offensive if it now worked for the demons.

Castiel stepped back, allowing the brothers a clear path to the entrance of the tent. He seemed oblivious to the brother’s trepidation.

Sam thanked his luck that he had chosen to bring the Angel Blade, but before they entered the tent he was hit with a wave of sudden doubt.

‘Hey Dean, what do we do with the angel?’

‘What?’ Dean was confused.

‘I mean, we gank the demons, sure. But what will we do with the angel, I have the angel blade do we gank it too? Or, do we bring it out to Cass and let him take care of it?’

‘Well I suppose we try to save them. I mean, it’s not their fault they’ve been kidnapped by demons. But I suppose if it has joined the demons then we have the Angel Blade, gank the son of a bitch. Problem solved.’

Dean didn’t seem overly conflicted by this. He had no great love of angels, good or bad, with the exception of Castiel. Killing another angel wouldn’t bother him like it would bother Sam.

The brothers entered the tent whilst Castiel waited impatiently outside, keeping watch. There was no time to rid the tent of the wards, not with the constant risk of being caught by more demons. With their weapons raised, poised to attack, the Winchesters cautiously looked around the tent. There didn’t appear to be any demons.

In fact there didn’t appear to be much of anything.

The tent was cavernous and unnecessarily large, as if it only existed to boast about its own presence. It was a house of empty excess, the only content it required was its own monstrous size.

It seemed completely empty with the exception of the large poles which held it up. Only one thing grabbed their attention. The only other presence in the whole tent, a figure tied to the supporting pole in the centre of the large tent, bound with thick rope.

Whilst the ropes binding the figure forced them to remain vertical Sam could see from the slumped position that they were unconscious. Fire surrounded the figure in a large ring. It was Holy Fire.

It had to be the angel.

Sam and Dean made their way to the middle of the tent.

The brothers had to work quickly; in the middle of the tent they were vulnerable, exposed and completely at risk. Yet they remained cautious, they needed to be sure that it wasn’t a trap. They didn’t want to be at the mercy of the demons which infested the carnival. No amount of bullets and magic knives would save them from that fate.

Sam and Dean stood before the ring of Holy Fire. Their weapons were in their hands, raised defensively. There was always a chance that things could turn nasty expectantly and Sam and Dean had far too much experience in that area to take risks. Once it became clear that the angel was in fact unconscious and was not a threat, the brothers allowed their shoulders to relax a little. It didn’t appear to be a trap but erring on the side of caution they did not lower their weapons.

Sam turned his attention from the unconscious angel. He examined the Holy Fire and the thick ropes. He did not miss that Dean was ‘Dean’ enough to raise an eyebrow at the fact the angel was naked and undeniably female. Sam made a disgusted noise and rolled his eyes.

‘Not the time, Dean.’

Dean managed to overcome his need to ogle the unconscious woman for a moment and whistled loudly to attract her attention. The angel slowly and lethargically raised her head in response, but her eyes remained glassy and unfocussed.

‘Hey, earth to angel. Are there any demons hiding around here?’ Dean asked.

The angel didn’t respond. To Sam it didn’t appear as if she had really heard him. Instead the angel allowed her head to fall, once again giving in to unconsciousness.

Before Dean could try to regain the angels attention there was a thud from outside.

Sam and Dean immediately abandoned their attempts to question the angel and ran to the door of the tent. Something was going on.

More demons had appeared and ambushed Castiel, alerted, once again, by their fallen brethren. Quickly the brothers joined the fighting, swiftly defeating the small number of demons surrounding Castiel.

Afterwards Sam turned and focused his attention on destroying the tent as much as possible, attempting to destroy the sigils on the tent to allow Castiel entrance so he too could examine the angel. Castiel noticed what he was doing.

‘Destroy the opening of the tent,’ he said. ‘It is where all the Enochian symbols lie.’

Sam moved to the door of the tent, using his blade to slash the thick material, hopefully destroying the markings in the process. Unlike Castiel, Sam could not see the angelic sigils and so it was a game of chance whether or not he was cutting the right places. Castiel provided no further words of wisdom and instead merely watched Sam as he continued to slash and cut at the tent with the Angel Blade. Dean joined in, assisting his brother, slashing at the other side of the tent’s entrance with the Demon Blade.

Whilst the two brothers cut and hacked at the tent they informed Castiel about the angel imprisoned within the tent. They explained how she was bound with rope and surrounded by Holy Fire, how she was unconscious and in bad shape.

‘I don’t think she gave into the demon’s or joined their ranks,’ Sam admitted as he thought back to how they found the angel, tied up, blacked out and encircled in fire. Not exactly the situation a comrade of the demons would be found in.

Castiel offered no reply.

Once the tent’s entrance appeared was sufficiently tattered, the sigils seemingly destroyed, Castiel made his way into the tent so he could examine the angel within. He strode past the brothers purposefully, not hesitating in walking into the unknown of the tent.

He made his way towards the centre of the tent, standing as close to his fellow angel as the Holy Fire would allow. His piercing blue eyes took in the scene before him, the angel tied to the large pole and the imprisoning ring of fire.

‘This angel has been tortured and injured,’ Castiel declared.

Dean shrugged, ‘she doesn’t look too beat up to me, buddy. She’ll live. I mean, I’ve seen worse. What does she have? A few cuts, bruises, a couple of fractures or some broken ribs at most. That’s no problem for an angel. She’ll heal her vessel in no time. I wouldn’t worry, man.’

Castiel stared coolly at Dean. There was a finely controlled anger present beneath his voice. Sam recognised the tone. It was the ‘foolish humans have no idea what they are talking about.’ Castiel had often used when they had first met.

What Dean had said was meant to be reassuring for Castiel. Instead it seemed to have had the opposite effect.

‘I was not the vessel they were torturing, you moron. It was the angel’s True Form.’ Castiel said quietly. There was a sharp edge to his voice.

‘Oh,’ said Dean, unsure what else to say.

The team stood before the unconscious angel in a moment of silence. Dean was still receiving a scalding look from Castiel because of his apparent faux pas.

Sam cleared his throat and it seemed to jolt the team back into action. He had expected Castiel to shout or to yell. Instead he turned his blazing gaze from Dean and back onto the angel and the Holy Fire.

‘I shall need the angel to reveal its True Form so I can make an accurate assessment upon the extent of the damage it has suffered,’ Castiel said coolly.

It was clear his anger was no longer towards Dean, perhaps the anger had never been towards Dean at all but towards the demons that had brought upon such suffering.

‘I will need you two to extinguish the Holy Fire before I can approach her,’ Castiel continued, moving his gaze to the fiery barrier between him and his kin.

Sam and Dean moved forward. They quickly established that the swiftest way to extinguish the flames was to stomp them out with their heavy boots. Castiel waited for them to finish extinguishing the fire impatiently. Once it was extinguished Sam gently untied the thick ropes to free the angel.

Nonchalantly, Castiel strode past Sam and Dean and picked up the still unconscious angel. He placed her over his shoulder and disappeared leaving behind nothing but the faint sound of wings.

 Sam and Dean frowned. Castiel’s actions had been abrupt but not entirely unexpected.

Dean muttered, ‘you’re friggin’ welcome,’ under his breath as he and his brother left the tent and made their way exhaustedly back to the motel.


	5. Chapter 5

 

Sam and Dean weren’t surprised to find Castiel and the angel already in their motel room when they arrived back from the carnival.

The rescued angel was lying on Dean’s bed, still unconscious. Castiel stood beside her, his face impassive. He seemed unconcerned that she was still naked. Sam hurriedly covered her naked form with a blanket, at least with her body covered Sam needn’t worry about Dean gawking at the unconscious chick lying on his bed. Castiel watched Sam with mild interest and what was perhaps a hint of amusement at the human’s embarrassment.

The night passed quickly with the angel failing to regain consciousness. Sam tried to get a little sleep, lying uncomfortably in the small motel bed which failed to accommodate his tall frame. Dean was not so trusting and therefore he stayed awake. Castiel did not require sleep, he remained standing beside the other angel watching over the her as she attempted to repair the vessel.

It was an unusual experience for Dean. He had never been given the opportunity to truly appreciate supernatural healing abilities up close before. It was bizarre to watch. Dean could stare at the angel lying on his bed for an age, observing every small cut, bruise and swollen area of skin, with no noticeable change, until his eyes stung and he was forced to give in and blink. But, when he opened his eyes, the sight before him would have changed, small cuts were gone, bruises faded, swelling decreased. It was both irritating and confusing. No matter how long Dean stared, how long he strained his eyes, he never saw the injuries heal. After a while he gave up trying, begrudgingly accepting that a miracle was truly at work.

By morning the angel had completely healed her vessel but still had not awoken. Sam and Dean left to fetch some breakfast from a nearby convenience store, leaving Castiel to remain with the angel.

 On their return, Sam requested the brothers made a brief detour to buy some clothes for the angel.

‘You want me to what?’ Dean had asked incredulously as he pulled his Impala out of the convenience store’s empty parking-lot.

‘I just asked if you would call into a store so we could buy the angel some clothes,’ Sam repeated calmly, trying to ignore his brother’s tone.

‘And why do we need to do that?’

‘She’s naked, Dean. What are we going to do if she wakes up? Just let her walk about with no clothes on?’

‘Ugh. Fine, man. Whatever. There’s a store a few miles out of town, we’ll make a detour. But only because I know she’s too small to fit any of our clothes. You’re too soft, you know that?’

Dean made his way out of town and drove to the store. He parked the car and turned on the radio. Sam took that as a sign Dean had no intention of assisting in the clothes shopping.

Sam stepped out of the car rushed into the store quickly, not wishing to keep Dean waiting. He awkwardly picked up the first thing he could find on the clearance rail, a small summery dress which had been reduced to clear. He didn’t look at the price tag, or the size, he just went to the cashier and paid by card. Sam was out of the store and back into the car, dress in hand, in less than five minutes.

Dean snorted at his younger brother’s haste but Sam knew that Dean couldn’t understand the terror of the women’s department store. He decidedly ignored his brothers mocking and instead counted his blessings that he had made it out alive. He had avoided the judging looks from the women in the underwear section who would regard him as some kind of pervert just for being there. He had endured the ‘kill me’ stares from the other men in the store, trapped by significant others. He had expertly bypassed the perfume counter, evading the scent samples that could take down a man easier than pepper spray. Sam had spent far too many hours in stores just like this one, being dragged around by Jess.

With the ordeal of shopping for women’s clothes over the brothers returned to the motel. They found Castiel in the same position he had been in when they had left, standing silently in the corner of the room, his gaze fixed firmly on the other angel. Sam moved towards her, removing the blanket which covered her small frame and gently dressing her so that she would not be naked when she awakened. So as not to be in Sam’s way, Castiel moved. He stood in the corner of the room, now closer to Dean than he was his fellow angel.

As Sam dressed the angel, Dean turned to Castiel.

‘Any progress since we left?’ Dean asked.

‘No. But it will not be long now until she wakes up,’ Castiel replied. ‘Perhaps then we shall know why an angel was placed on earth without me being made aware of it and how she managed to fall into demon hands.’

It was evident from his tone that Castiel was less than pleased he had not been informed of the angel’s presence.

Another half an hour dragged by, whilst the brothers moved, sitting on the dirty motel couch in tired silence, Castiel remained standing. They all watched the angel on Dean’s bed, looking for a modicum of moment, the twitch of a finger or a fluttering of an eyelid but there was nothing.

Then suddenly, without warning, the angel sat bolt upright, clutching the sides of her head, her eyes screwed shut as if in agony.

She didn’t look afraid or confused. She didn’t look scared or angry.

If anything she looked weary, as if the pain was an all too familiar sensation.

After a moment, the angel removed the hands from the sides of her head, as if the pain had receded. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at her hands, her arms and legs, as if amazed that she was untied. Finally she looked up.

The first two people she noticed were Sam and Dean. Although she seemed a little surprised to see humans she did not react much. She didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow or spare a confused glance. Instead she continued to look slowly around the room taking in her surroundings slowly, cautiously. Sam wondered if she thought that all this was a lie, some elaborate torture created by the demons. That did seem to be one of their usual tricks. Perhaps that’s why she was taking it so well.

That was until she saw Castiel.

The second her gaze fell upon Castiel the ground began to shake. The lights in the motel flickered violently and a number of them shattered explosively, sending glass flying through the air. Car alarms screamed from outside. To stop themselves from being flung about by the heavy tremors of the earth Sam and Dean held onto the walls desperately but it was a futile action, they had little to grab onto. They would soon lose their hold and be flung about the room.

Castiel did not hold onto anything to steady himself but instead he held up his hands in a peaceful gesture.

‘I am not going to hurt you,’ he said.

Immediately the reactions stopped.

The angel on the bed looked at Castiel, eyes wide. Dean didn’t know whether she was damn trusting or just plain old stupid.

Sam steadied himself a little then walked towards the angel slowly, as if he was approaching a startled animal, his hands in the air in a peaceful gesture, not unlike that of Castiel’s.

‘Are you feeling alright?’ he asked her gently.

Then angel stood up slowly. She swayed slightly but remained standing.

‘What is your name?’ Sam asked her, starting with the simple questions.

The angel did not respond. It was as if she wasn’t paying attention. Sam was unsure whether she heard him and so asked her again. Once again he garnered no response.

Dean whistled loudly and she turned her head sharply, just as she had done the night previous. ‘Answer my brother. We’re not at the hard questions yet, sweetheart.’

Dean walked from the wall to stand beside Sam.

Failing to reply once more the angel turned to Castiel for assistance, looking at him meaningfully. Castiel did not understand what she was trying to tell him.

‘Is your vessel perhaps, defective?’ He asked her.

She shook her head.

The angel slowly and unsteadily stepped forward, like a baby deer taking its first steps, towards Sam and Dean. She reached her hand out as if to cover their eyes but the brothers were wary and stepped out of her reach.

Then angel seemed to understand and correctly interpreted the brother’s caution. She closed her eyes slowly and deliberately. The men got the hint and closed their eyes.

The sudden burst of light flaring in front of their closed eyes told them that the angel was revealing her true form to Castiel.


	6. Chapter 6

The True Light of the angel stung brightly. Even Sam and Dean’s closed eyes, although shut tightly, were not enough to block out the light entirely.  They turned their backs to the blast of light.

As the light began to fade a little, and eventually vanish entirely, the world seemed to dull down. The Winchesters cautiously opened their eyes, checking to make sure it was safe to do so. They turned around once again to face the angels.

Castiel was looking at the angel before him. He looked at her curiously, as if staring at her would reveal her secrets. After a long moment Castiel turned to face the brothers. He had a look of comprehension and understanding on his face.

‘It is clear now,’ Castiel said. ‘This angel will not and cannot reply because she is unable to do so.’

‘What do you mean, Cass?’ asked Sam.

‘Her vocal chords have been ripped out.’

Sam and Dean exchanged shocked glances.

That had been a thoroughly unexpected answer.

Dean strode over and forced the angel to open her mouth, peering down her throat as if he would be able to check that Castiel was right. Both angels allow him to do so with no complaints. The injured angel in question was seemingly unbothered about Dean’s massive invasion of personal space.

Dean was no medical expert, but he had seen enough Doctor Sexy make him think that he was one. He liked to think that he would know when something was wrong, especially when that something was forcibly removed vocal chords. There had to be some scarring, some injury which proved what Castiel had said. Dean had never known an angel’s True Form to be tortured before. Such an injury to a True Form should have bled over onto the vessel. It only made sense. But the vessel’s throat was perfect, entirely unmutilated and uninjured. It was a contradiction.

Dean stepped back allowing the angel to close her mouth once again. He furrowed his brow.

‘How could the demons allow this to happen?’ asked Sam, he had decided that if the angel were to ignore his brother’s rude behaviour, then he would too.  ‘I mean, why would they prevent her from talking if all they wanted from her is information?’

Castiel stared at Sam steadily. His pale blue eyes flickered slightly, almost imperceptibly. He was silent for a long time. Sam was unsure whether the flicker in Castiel’s usually unflinching gaze was because he was unsure why demons would do such a thing or whether it was because he was debating if he should tell the brothers the truth. Probably the latter as angels were notoriously secretive.

The desire to be honest with the Winchester’s seemed to win out after a moment’s consideration and Castiel finally spoke.

‘It was not demons who committed such acts upon her.’

‘What? Then who did? Or what did?’ asked Dean, growing evermore confused.

 It was the work of angels.’ Castiel said regretfully.

‘What? Why?’ asked Sam, shocked at Castiel’s answer. ‘How can you be sure? The demons were torturing her.’

‘This angel before you is a Seraph,’ Castiel replied, ‘It is a sign of disgrace among the Seraphim to lose ones voice. The Seraphim are the caretakers of God’s Throne. They worship him and continuously shout God’s praises. To cast a Seraph from heaven and to stop them forever from being able to exalt or sing God’s praises is a cruel punishment. Only an angel would do such a thing.’

The angel, now identified as a Seraph nodded her head in agreement.  

This seemed to remind everyone that she was still present in the room. Even Dean, who was standing beside her, had been listening to Castiel. He had completely forgotten that she was still right beside him. It was a tribute to his nerves that he didn’t jump when she nodded.

‘Your vessel is healed, Seraph, but your True Form is still weak. It has sustained much injury. You have much still to cure and heal,’ Castiel said, turning his attention to her. ‘Lie on this bed and rest a little longer. Regain as much strength as you can.’

The Seraph nodded and lay down once again on Dean’s bed to sleep some more. She seemed to fall asleep the moment her head touched the crappy motel pillow. Dean suddenly didn’t find it hard to believe she still had a lot of healing to do. He had seen Sam sleep days away in a similar fashion after a big hunt.

Once entirely sure that she was asleep, the brothers began to grill Castiel for information.

‘Come on Cass, what’s the deal with this angel chick?’ Dean said, ever subtle.

‘Seraph? What does this mean? Is she a threat?’ translated Sam.

‘Is she a threat? No, not particularly. Seraphim are one of the highest ranked members of Heaven’s Chorus.’ Castiel began, ‘She is a high ranking angel, in the same family as Cherubim. They are the more peaceful angels.’

Dean looked a little confused so Castiel elaborated a little more. ‘My family of angels are known as Heavenly Powers,’ he said, ‘We are warriors. Seraphim are protectors.’

‘And Cherubim are lovers, right?’ joked Dean. ‘I mean last time I saw one of those sons of bitches he was really feeling the love, especially from Sammy!’

Sam punched Dean none too gently on the shoulder and continued the conversation. ‘There must be a reason why she was thrown out of heaven though. And there’s got to be a reason that she was kidnapped by the demons.’

Castiel nodded his head in agreement but didn’t answer. The brothers could tell from his silence that there was something that he was not telling them.

Silence reigned in the motel room.


	7. Chapter 7

A few hours had passed in the motel room.

Sam, Dean and Castiel were waiting in silence for the sleeping angel on Dean’s bed to wake up. Ever impatient, Dean was not handling waiting for the Seraph to heal overly well. Sam could tell from the tension in his brother’s shoulders that he was getting pissed. Sam knew that any moment now Dean would begin complaining.

‘Dammit, how long have we been waiting? It’s gotta have been six hours at least,’ grumbled Dean.

_There he goes,_ Sam thought.

‘We should just wake her up. Send her on her way, move on in our investigations.’ Dean continued.

‘You know nothing, Dean’ said Castiel, his tone suddenly sharp.

‘What?’ Dean replied, none too politely.

‘You have no idea the extent of the damage the demons have inflicted upon the Seraph. Not to mention what the angels have done to her. Her True Form still has a lot to heal.’

Dean opened his mouth as if to speak back but Castiel cut him off before he had a chance. ‘This is no light matter, Dean. This angel before us is a Seraph and in her disgrace the angels have ripped off a pair of wings and removed her voice. No angel would commit such an act unless the Seraph’s actions were inexcusable. It is against their ways.’

Sam wasn’t overly sure about that last statement. From his experience acts of violence were most definitely angel’s ways. But Castiel had said the Seraph was a different kind of angel, more like the Cherubim. Sam was more trusting than his brother. Maybe they should give her a chance.

Castiel had turned to look at the sleeping Seraph on the bed before him, he said, ‘Demons have no such qualms about harming an angelic form.’

He was silent for a moment, staring at the Seraph, as if the memory of her True Form was etched into his brain forever.

‘Mutilated,’ Castiel said, his voice a mixture of bitterness and regret. ‘Mutilated is the only word which comes to mind if I wished to describe the Seraph’s True Form.’

His voice was quiet. His blue eyes were dark with emotion. He fell silent.

Dean at least had the decency to look shame-faced.

In a bid to break the tense atmosphere which had formed he joked weakly, ‘A pair of her wings? How many pairs does she friggin’ have? Is she stock-piling them?’

Castiel missed the sarcasm in Dean’s tone, taking what he had said as a curious question, which thankfully broke the tension in the air.

‘I think you have misunderstood the anatomy of an angel. We cannot _stock pile_ wings, Dean.’ Castiel said seriously. ‘A Seraph would have six pairs of wings. One pair to cover the face, one pair for the feet and one pair used to fly. This Seraph now no longer has the pair with which to cover her face.’

Sam and Dean did not miss the symbolism.

Neither brother nor angel wished to cause any further trouble and so the team spent the rest of the day in silence. When day turned to night Sam and Dean both got caught up on some sleep and, as usual, Castiel kept watch.

Morning came and the girl had still not re-awakened. Sam and Dean quietly left for some breakfast at a nearby diner allowing Castiel to remain in the motel room, over-seeing the Seraph’s rest, uninterrupted. He was under strict orders to alert them if she woke up.

The diner was a pleasant change from the silence of the motel room. The silence in the motel wasn’t awkward anymore, just prolonged. Dean, not wishing to offend Castiel anymore than he already had, was treating the cheap motel room like some sort of library, only talking when he needed to, and when he did it was in hushed tones. Sam knew his brother only had pure intentions at heart but all the whispering was getting on his nerves and he needed to feel as if he were not walking on eggshells for a while.

The diner was crowded, bustling and best of all, filled with many animated conversations. A blessed contrast to the silent motel room.

Once seated Sam could not help but overhear some of the normal small town gossip and chatter, just as he had done a few days before. After all, the diner after all was small, and the townspeople were loud.

He listened absentmindedly to the two small children in the booth behind his, the brother and sister duo attempting unsuccessfully to cajole their mother into allowing them to visit the carnival today.

Sam’s involuntary eavesdropping was temporarily interrupted by the arrival of his food. He looked up at Dean, but from the concentrated expression it was clear that his brother was listening to the same conversation Sam had just been listening to.

Dean’s looked visibly relieved when the berated mother firmly told the children they would not be attending the carnival. Content that another family were safe Dean took a large swig from the mug of coffee before him.

‘We can’t go to the carnival today,’ explained the mother to her groaning children. ‘I would take you if I could darlings, but the carnival isn’t in town any more. It left yesterday.’ The children groaned even louder in unison, their disappointment evident. Sam could see from Dean’s expression that he had overheard that last statement too.

‘God Dammit!’ cursed Dean, slamming his mug of coffee onto the table in frustration, ignoring the scalding coffee that spilled onto his hand and over the table.

In all the commotion over the last two days of rescuing the angel, the brother’s original plan of shutting down the carnival and ganking all of the demons had went rather awry. They had totally forgotten about the remaining demons.

‘Oh man, how could we have been so stupid?’ Sam said, ‘Now we have to track the carnival down, and they know we’re onto them.’

Dean made a frustrated noise that sounded like a grunt and shoved the last of his breakfast into his mouth before washing it down with the remains of his coffee. He threw down the correct amount of money for the bill and stormed out of the diner angrily. Sam followed behind him as they returned to the motel to inform Castiel of the news.

Once they returned to the room they see neither angel appeared to have moved since they left. That was unsurprising. Dean quickly informed Castiel on the situation and asked him to check out the site where the carnival should have been. Castiel disappeared, returning moments later.

‘The site is completely abandoned,’ Castiel said, upon his return. ‘Even the corpses from two nights ago have disappeared. Not even a drop of blood remains. It is as if there was never a carnival there to begin with. I suspect they fled on the night we attacked. The carnival will have gotten a two day head-start and I could find no clue as to where they may go next.’

‘Dammit!’ cursed Dean loudly again, kicking a chair across the room in frustration. The noise seemed to jolt the Seraph awake. She sat up quickly and looked around to see what was going on that had caused such a commotion.

‘Hey, are you feeling any better?’ Sam asked her gently. She shook her head, answering honestly. Compassion filled his eyes as he helped her to stand up.

Dean was perhaps not as kind. He turned on the Seraph, an easy target for his frustration. He was still annoyed at having made such a stupid mistake. And unlike the other two in the room, the Seraph wasn’t going to answer him back, perfect for Dean to turn his rage to.

‘Tell me what you know about the demons and their plans.’ He demanded.

The Seraph looked wary and confused.

‘Come on, you were there long enough, you have to have heard something. Anything. Tell me where you think the demons might go. Do you know where they’re going?’

The Seraph shook her head.

‘Do you know about their plans?’

The Seraph looked at Dean, at the barely controlled rage badly concealed on his face. She nodded hesitantly.

Dean turned to Castiel.

‘Get the information out of her. I don’t care how,’ Dean demanded.


	8. Chapter 8

Castiel stood before the Seraph, his face blank.

He had no idea how to get the information from her. It wasn’t as if she could simply write down what she knew. It wasn’t exactly information one should write down. And Castiel wasn’t entirely sure she was literate in human languages anyway. It took a lot of practice to be able to read any human language let alone write in it, and he had a distinct feeling that the rather limited written language of Enochian may not yield comprehensive results either.

Castiel was silent for a while. Whilst his face was black his mind was whirring with thoughts and ideas. Finally he walked over to the Seraph and said, ‘evacuate your vessel.’

The Seraph looked a little taken aback. She shook her head and Castiel sighed, he had expected as much.

 He turned to Sam and Dean and explained, ‘She cannot leave her vessel.’

‘Why the hell not?’ demanded Dean, his anger had not diffused.

Castiel furrowed his brow in evident displeasure, stating to Dean, as if it was obvious.

‘Her true form still requires more time to heal, Dean. It is not safe for her to attempt to remove herself from her vessel.’

Dean kicked the bed in anger, ‘Dammit Cass, we don’t have time for this kinda bull crap! We need to know what the Demons in friggin’ Cirque Du Freak are up to and this Seraph knows, so why don’t we force her out of her vessel and get the damn information out of her True Form? It’s not going to kill her, right? She left her vessel yesterday.’

Castiel stepped forward, rage in his eyes, Dean knew that he had crossed a line. Again. But before Castiel could take another step he felt a tug on his sleeve. It was the Seraph. She nodded her head towards Dean as if agreeing with what he had just said.

Dean widened his eyes in shock that the angel agreed with him. Castiel looked unconvinced. But his anger lessened a little when Sam smacked Dean across the head for his rude behaviour. Dean, cooling down a little, rubbed the back of his head and muttered obscenities under his breath.

Castiel turned his attention to Sam, to explain why the Seraph had agreed with Dean.

‘Theoretically the Seraph could leave her vessel were she uninjured but she just does not have the strength herself to do it. If we were to let her regain her strength we may never find out where the demon carnival has gone,’ Castiel explained. ‘Yesterday she did not leave her vessel as Dean suggested. Not that leaving her vessel will allow her to talk. Her True Form is forever going to be mute. She merely showed me a glimpse of her True Form within the vessel. Those are two very different things.’

‘What does that mean?’ asked Sam.

‘It means we wait for the Seraph to heal enough to leave her vessel, or I forcibly remove her.’

‘Can you do that?’

‘I can do a great many things, Sam.’

Castiel looked once more at the Seraph and sighed, ‘I shall find you a temporary vessel,’ he said.

‘Wait,’ said Sam, a little lost. ‘I don’t understand, why do we need another vessel? Why does the Seraph need to leave her vessel at all?’

Castiel looked at Sam as if it was obvious, a stare that was matched perfectly by the Seraph standing beside him. It seemed that the angels thought the answer was obvious but the blank look Sam and his brother were sharing made it perfectly clear that it was not.

‘The Seraph is unable to talk,’ Castiel began, explaining slowly for the benefit of the humans in the room.

‘We already know that,’ said Dean.

‘Well, it is only the Seraph unable to talk. Her vessel is still functional.’

The Winchester’s didn’t like how Castiel said _functional_. It made the Seraph’s vessel sound less like a human and more like a robot. But they would admit that it was easy to forget that the body standing before them in a cheap summery dress was just a rental. A body the angel had borrowed.

A fully functional body.

With vocal chords.

Things clicked into place for Sam and Dean.

‘Do what you have to do Cass,’ Dean said.

Castiel nodded, and then disappeared. He reappeared a few minutes later with a body slung over his shoulder.

‘What the hell Cass? Is that a dead body? Did you just steal a corpse from a morgue?’ asked Sam, shocked.

‘No Sam, don’t be absurd’ said Castiel calmly. ‘It’s just a coma patient.’

‘What?’

‘I borrowed a coma patient from an ICU.’

Sam was speechless. He exhaled a disbelieving breath of air and asked no further questions. The look he gave Dean could have made lesser men cry.

‘Do not worry Sam,’ assured Castiel, noticing Sam’s expression. 'I will return it.’


	9. Chapter 9

Castiel set the coma patient onto Dean’s bed.

Dean wondered why he even bothered thinking of it as his bed anymore. It seemed to have been claimed by the angels.

‘Lie on Sam’s bed, Seraph,’ Castiel said as he arranged the coma patient so that she was lying on her back.

The Seraph complied. Mirroring the coma patient, she too lay on her back, arms by her sides.

‘This is what I am going to do,’ Castiel began as he walked around from the coma patient to the Seraph.

As Castiel was looking at Sam and Dean, it seemed the explanation seemed to be more for the Winchester’s benefit than the Seraph’s.

‘I am going to forcefully expel the Seraph from her vessel and temporarily place her in the coma patient who will serve as a temporary vessel. Then, once the vessel has regained consciousness we can question her on what the demon’s plan is.’

Sam and Dean nodded. The plan sounded simple enough.

Without waiting for the Seraph to nod in agreement as well, Castiel placed his hand over her heart and pulled upwards. Sam and Dean closed their eyes. Out of habit rather than necessity, Dean covered his ears. As the Seraph had no voice she could not harm his ears.

The silence was worse than the loud high-pitched shriek that normally accompanied a True Form.

It seemed inappropriate that Castiel forcefully remove his fellow angel from her vessel in silence, the only accompaniment a flashing of blinding brightness.

Once the excruciatingly bright light faded the Winchester’s cautiously peeked to see if it was safe to open their eyes. It was. After a moment of tense anticipation both the coma patient and the, now unoccupied, vessel sat up in an uncanny unison.

The coma patient-cum-Seraph looked pale and nowhere near as healthy as the brothers had first thought. She made a few feeble attempts to stand up but she swayed uneasily where she sat. Dean, whose guilt about his previous treatment of her was exacerbated by how badly she had reacted to being placed in an unsuitable vessel, leant forward and steadied her. She leant dependently on him, unable to support her own weight. Dean placed himself gently onto the bed beside her to make sure she remained upright. She leant on his shoulder heavily. Dean noticed how weak her breath was.

The newly unoccupied vessel looked dazed for a moment. She seemed to be trying to regain her senses. The dazed confusion seemed to pass quickly however and she stood up, smoothed down her dress and smiled widely.

‘¿Qué onda, beautiful men?’ said the vessel, her accent thick. Sam and Dean were surprised by her accent, but upon reflection, should not have been. The vessel had dark eyes and dark hair, her olive complexion hinted of a country far hotter than America.

‘Oh, to be alone in a motel room with three such beautiful men,’ said the vessel. She laughed.

Her laugh was unexpectedly grating. She laughed a little too loud and for a little too long. It was the kind of laugh which quickly got on ones nerves.

Castiel cleared his throat a little awkwardly, trying to ignore what she was saying, which was a mostly incessant babble in both Spanish and English about how good it was to be back, and with such attractive company. Sam swore she winked at Dean.

Dean didn’t notice. Sam covered up his smirk with a cough.

‘Do you know what the demons are planning? It is very important that you try to remember.’ Asked Castiel seriously, trying to regain control of the situation.

The vessel actually shut up for a moment, her smile fading. She shivered. ‘I am not sure why _los demonios_  took _mi_ _ángel.’_ The Vessel said slowly, _‘_ She suspected in the beginning that _el_ _demonios_ wished to learn about heaven but they did not ask about heaven. Instead they asked about _los ángeles_. As if they wished to know all the types. Seraph, Cupid, Power, Authorities. They wanted to know them all. When it became clear that _mi ángel_ wasn’t just refusing to give information, that she could not, she was useless to them. They did not need her. But they kept her.’

The vessel was silent a moment. Her tone was no longer playful.

‘They began experimenting on her,’ she said quietly,’ if she could not talk then _mi ángel_ would be used to gain knowledge on torturing the True Forms. So that, if the opportunity arose for them to get another _ángel,_ they would know how to get the information they wanted.’

‘You do not seem overly scarred from the torture,’ Castiel said bluntly, ‘You can talk of it easily. I assume there are not many human who could talk of their torture so freely.’

Sam and Dean could vouch for that.

‘They tortured me in the beginning, but they were not interested in a human vessel. That would be mere child’s play compared to what they could achieve though torturing a True Form,’ said the vessel. ‘I was lucky. I got off very lightly, all because of _mi ángel._ She always looks after me.’

It was clear to all in the room that the vessel was all too aware how lucky she was. She may have been loud, irritating and a little obnoxious but she was clear she knew how much the Seraph had suffered.

‘Anyway,’ the vessel continued, ‘what am I going to do now? I wasn’t much help I suppose. But I remember very little, _mi ángel_ tried to protect me from the pain. Are you going to give me a reward for all my information? How about a kiss?’ She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Dean whispered to the Seraph, ‘I think I preferred her when you had high-jacked her body.’

 ‘I agree,’ Castiel said honestly.

Dean had whispered a little louder than intended.

Sam tried to suppress a laugh, unsuccessfully. The vessel was unamused. Sam coughed awkwardly once again.

‘Maybe this is a good opportunity to get to know a little about the Seraph. You know, things that she isn’t able to tell us herself? I mean, do you know what the Seraph’s name is?’ Sam said, attempting to redeem himself.

The vessel shrugged and Castiel made a huffing breath which was probably his closest equivalent to a laugh.

‘Seraphim don’t have names, Sam,’ he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sam looked surprised but said nothing. He wasn’t sure what to ask now.

Thankfully Dean was there to the rescue.

‘What did the Seraph do that was so bad she got kicked out of heaven?’ asked Dean.

The question certainly piqued Sam’s interest, and had crossed his mind more than once. He looked over curiously at the Seraph but she didn’t seem to be listening to the conversation. Her eyes were unfocussed and she was taking slow, shaking breaths.

The vessel looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, ‘ _Mi ángel_ was kicked out by Raphael because she did not wish for the apocalypse to re-start. That is why she still has her grace. Technically she has done nothing wrong. She supported the ideas of _un ángel_ Castiel. He thought they should attempt to find God and see if he would help guide them. She thought that God should come back and inhabit his throne once more.’

The vessel shrugged, not understanding the significance of what she had just said.

Dean looked to the coma patient-cum-Seraph and asked, ‘Is that true? What she just said?’ The Seraph nodded weakly.

Dean looked as Castiel and said, ‘Hey Cass, would you look at that? You’ve got a fan!’

The vessel looked up, surprised that the angel before her was Castiel.

‘I always thought you would be taller,’ she exclaimed narrowing her eyes a little. ‘Manlier. More Distinguished. Better Dressed.’

Castiel looked uncomfortable and a little offended. He fixed his tan overcoat slightly.

Sam looked at the Seraph.

‘Oh man. You don’t look so good.’

He was right. The Seraph was an unhealthy shade of grey.

‘She was placed in an unsuitable vessel. Now the angel and vessel are rejecting each other. She must return to her vessel soon,’ Castiel said.

‘Not yet!’ exclaimed the vessel.

Everyone stared at her.

‘I would not be caught dead in this dress I’m wearing. I have to change,’ she explained.

Sam looked a little offended that his fashion choice was apparently that bad.

‘I couldn’t be seen in public like this,’ she continued, undeterred by Sam’s puppy-eque disappointment. ‘I am not even wearing a bra or panties. I’m not going to allow my body to be walked about like this. It’s obscene!’

Sam blushed.

‘Take me home, I shall change. I will be quick.’ The vessel ordered Castiel.

Seemingly unwilling to offer an argument to the fiery vessel Castiel merely touched her shoulder and, with the flapping of wings, they disappeared.

Upon return the vessel now sported a slightly more fashionable knee length dress. It was plain and off white which perfectly complimented her dark olive-skinned complexion. On top of it she had a soft looking brown jacket and a sensible pair of brown boots. It was the perfect combination of fashionable and practical.

The vessel looked in the cheap motel room’s single long mirror and fixed her hair slightly. She smiled and returned to the bed.

‘Go on Castiel. Return _mi ángel_ to her true vessel,’ she said.

‘Why are you so okay with being a vessel?’ Dean asked, thinking back to the time when Michael wanted to hitch a ride on the Dean-mobile. Dean had been far less than willing to allow angel to wear his body as a glove.

The vessel looked to the roof thoughtfully before she said slowly, ‘Before _mi ángel_ I was working seven days a week in a dead end job. I had no love life, no social life and no family life as I lost touch with my family when I came to America to work. The only family I managed to stay in touch with was my sister. Then, four years ago she was in a car crash. She didn’t die, but she has been in a coma ever since. All my money goes to her medical bills.’

Dean sucked in a sympathetic breath. Life had so many ways of being tough for people. It had a thousand and one ways of screwing people over.

The vessel wasn’t done, ‘Then,’ she continued, ‘on top of the big pile of crap that was my life I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I was going to lose control over my body anyway. It was attacking itself. It was killing me from the inside out. Then _mi ángel_ came and she borrowed my body. She returned my sense of adventure and my sense of life. It’s the most interesting thing that has ever happened to me. It may not have been pleasant so far, but I welcome her back.’

Sam couldn’t help but smile. It was a sweet story, in an odd kind of way. It was clear that the vessel was happy to be with the Seraph.

The vessel lay back onto Dean’s bed, allowing Castiel walk over to her, but before he could return the Seraph, the vessel on Dean’s bed said, ‘My name is Mariangela by the way. You never asked but I’ll tell you anyway. It means _rebel-angel_. I don’t know about you but I always thought it was a strangely appropriate name for _mi ángel,_ don’t you think?’ 

‘I have told you before that a Seraph does not have a na-’ began Castiel

‘I think it’s perfect,’ interrupted Dean, ‘anyway, we can’t just keep calling her “The Seraph” all the time it’ll just attract attention.’

Castiel nodded, he found Dean’s statement more understandable than the vessel’s.

With a raised hand Castiel returned The Seraph back into her suitable vessel. When the light faded he strode over, picked up the coma patient and disappeared, returning her to the ICU hospital bed from whence she first came.

The, once again occupied, vessel opened her eyes, ready for her next big adventure.


	10. Chapter 10

Castiel allowed the Seraph, newly christened Mariangela, to slowly stand up after returning to her vessel. She took a moment to regain her balance but Sam was relieved to see that she had regained her colour again once returned to her suitable vessel.

Mariangela stood carefully, one hand placed upon the post of Dean’s bed for balance. She seemed to have improved in health in every passing second. Sam reflected that angelic healing abilities were no joke.

‘At least we have a vague idea why the demons took … Mariangela’ Dean said, he paused slightly before saying her name. It was a little jarring. He had grown used to calling her ‘the angel’ or ‘the Seraph’ or ‘the giant pain in our asses’, but the last one he kept strictly in his mind.

‘Yeah,’ agreed Sam, ‘it’s too bad we don’t know where they are now.’

Sam sighed.

‘I get we have no choice but to start researching again. We know their patterns this time. It should be easier to find them again now that we know what to look for.’

Dean groaned loudly in protest but picked up the laptop nonetheless.

The brothers and Castiel quickly got down to research, falling into an easy pattern, a routine they had done hundreds of times. Mariangela looked on curiously from her position beside Dean’s bedpost. After a while it appeared she had decided to help, she walked cautiously over to the table where they were working, picked up a book and began reading. Every so often she pointed at things she had found that may have been of relevance.

Castiel was surprised that she could read, but he kept that statement to himself, Sam and Dean may have thought he was merely being rude. Perhaps it was just a lingering memory from her vessel; Seraphim rarely studied the human language.

Hours of research yielded very little, even Sam suppressed a groan of boredom as his fifth book in a row proved entirely useless.

Research was providing no help so the group decided to call Bobby fill him in and pick his brains.

‘Hey Bobby,’ said Sam

‘Hey Sam, how’s everything going?’ said Bobby on the other end of the line.

‘Yeah, it’s not going so great, Bobby. It turns out you were right, demon presence can attract angels. Problem was it worked the other way. It turns out that the reason the demon carnival had been in town for so long was because they had gotten their hands on an angel.’

‘No kidding,’ said Bobby, sounding genuinely surprised,

‘I know, so we broke into the carnival at night and it turns out what they were trying to hide was this angel. We got to her in time, but she’s in pretty bad shape. Seems like Raphael and his supporters got to her pretty bad before she even left heaven, then the demon’s came in and just added more injury on top.’

‘Well, is she able to tell you about the demons?’

‘Not exactly’ Sam said, unsure how to explain.

Dean who had been listening decided to take the phone and fill Bobby in,

‘She’s not exactly capable of talking,’ he began, ‘those sons-of-bitches upstairs destroyed her voice in some sort of angelic punishment, now she can’t speak or tell us what she knows.’

There was no reply on the other end for a moment, just the tell-tale sound of a bottle opening up and a glass being poured.

‘Is she gonna hang about long?’ asked Bobby after a moment.

‘Not if I can help it,’ replied Dean, ignoring the glares he received from both his brother and Castiel.

‘Humph… I can guess from the silence just now that Cass and Sam don’t share that feeling,’ said Bobby. His voice was accompanied by the sound of the glass being filled up again. ‘I’ll tell you what; get some food, some beer, some rest and head back to my house in the mornin’. We can start some more research at mine and I can meet your new, however temporary, angelic addition to your gang.’

Dean opened his mouth to protest but Sam snatched the phone away holding it just out of his older brother’s reach, ‘that’s fine Bobby, thanks!’ Sam shouted at the phone before ending the call, not waiting for a farewell from the other end of the line.

Dean scowled but couldn’t complain, the carnival was gone and they had no reason to stay in town anymore. He could just relax for the rest of the night.

Fully intending to keep to his word, Dean sent his brother for a fast food and beer run and stepped into the shower to wash away the last traces of the night before and the hard work of that day.


	11. Chapter 11

****

Dean stepped out of the shower more relaxed than he had felt all day, the almost warm water, surprising for this motel, had washed away his bad mood. He dressed leisurely and left the bathroom whistling quietly to himself.

Imagine Dean’s shock, when upon leaving the bathroom he seemed to have stumbled upon an angelic symposium on how to deal with humans. Guest speakers appeared to include Castiel, the newly self-proclaimed expert on human behaviour.

‘Humans are very hard to understand,’ he said to Mariangela, ‘but they are also easy to annoy.’

_Well, he’s got that damn right_ , thought Dean.

The motel door began to open. Dean smirked and intercepted Sam before he accidentally barged in on the angelic version of TED talks. Dean put his finger on his lips giving Sam the universal sign to shut the hell up. Sam instinctively did as he was told, instantly on the lookout for danger. Sam relaxed his defensive stance and soon began snickering too as he heard a little of the advice that Castiel was giving.

‘I cannot emphasise enough how much humans value a thing called _Personal Space_. This means you cannot stand beside them as they sleep, you cannot ever go into a bathroom if a human is already in there and you cannot interact with them during their dreams. These are all _Invasions of Personal Space_ and are not acceptable behaviours,’ Castiel said seriously.

Mariangela nodded solemnly. The Seraph, taking every word Castiel said as Gospel.

Dean snorted. Castiel talked as if didn’t still do these things almost every day. What a load of bull. It seemed that someone was talking himself up in front of the lady.

‘Forewarning humans before teleportation is a must. You must them when you are going to teleport. Also it appears to have an effect on human’s bowel movements, so teleport humans with caution. When you do teleport, don’t teleport into a moving vehicle. This has always annoyed Sam and Dean. I think it shocks them and they swear at me.’

Once again Maria nodded. She was listening to Castiel intently.

‘Humans often ask irrational things of us angels. The Winchesters especially. They are seemingly unconcerned at the troubles heaven is facing so do not mistake their demand to monopolise your time as insolence. It is merely ignorance. Along a similar vein, Sam and Dean get injured a lot. All the time, actually. You don’t need to heal them for every cut and broken bone they obtain upon their travels. Humans heal perfectly fine if given time. Save your powers for when they are truly injured.’

Mariangela furrowed her brow at this, as if not entirely happy with the information Castiel had given her. But she nodded nonetheless.

‘My final piece of advice,’ Castiel said, ‘Humans lie. A lot. Sometimes it can be hard to know what the truth is and what a lie is. So, it is best to ask Sam or Dean. They are professional liars and can usually tell if another human is lying.’

Mariangela nodded once again, it was clear she had taken Castiel’s advice as seriously as he had given it.

Angels sure were strange creatures.

Dean was clutching a wall attempting to stifle a laugh at how seriously Castiel had given Mariangela the advice but Sam elbowed him playfully,

 ‘I think it’s nice’, he said, ‘It’ll be good for Cass to have another angel around for a while. I’m sure it must get lonely.’

Dean was unconvinced but didn’t pass comment. Instead he grabbed the bags of food and beer that Sam was still carrying and took it into the room where the angels were sitting.

The brothers announced to the angels that they would be leaving in the morning to travel to Bobby’s.

Hopefully Bobby would have a few ideas about what to do with the Demon Carnival.

Until then Sam and Dean enjoyed a well-deserved meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BONUS  
> Whilst figuring out what advice Castiel was going to give Mariangela I wrote a list of possible things to say.  
> So, I thought I'd include them as an extra since this chapter was so short.  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Castiel’s Golden Advice for Mariangela  
> 1\. Don’t stand too close to humans; they value a thing called ‘personal space.’  
> 2\. Standing directly in front of them, or beside them when they are asleep is ‘creepy’ I think this is another personal space thing.  
> 3\. Don’t ever go into a bathroom if there is a human in there. This is definitely a personal space thing. It really irritates them.  
> 4\. Humans need sleep so you can’t interact with them at certain hours. These hours are generally at night.  
> 5\. Don’t interact with them through their dreams; apparently this too invades ‘personal space.’  
> 6\. When you are able to teleport once again remember never to teleport into a moving vehicle. This has always annoyed Sam and Dean, I think it shocks them and they swear at me.  
> 7\. Tell people when you are going to teleport them. Forewarning is a requirement. Also it appears to have an effect on human’s bowel movements so teleport humans with caution.  
> 8\. There is a type of television called ‘porn.’ I fail to understand it in it’s entirely but as far as I am aware you do not watch it in groups, and you are not allowed to talk about it.  
> 9\. Occasionally Sam and Dean Winchester get arrested. Police Officers will take them away. Although Police Officers are Earth’s law protecting body they are often wrong in the case of the Winchester Brothers. Do not be alarmed if they are arrested, they are capable of saving themselves.  
> 10\. Sam and Dean get injured a lot. All the time, actually. So don’t waste your power constantly healing them, humans heal perfectly well given time. Conserve your power for when they are truly injured.  
> 11\. Humans often ask irrational things of us angels. The Winchesters especially. They are seemingly unconcerned at the troubles heaven is facing so do not mistake their demand to monopolise your time as insolence, it is merely ignorance.  
> 12\. Do not drink an entire liquor store. The human authorities are called and it makes you feel incredibly bad as the alcohol leaves your system.  
> 13\. Avoid heavy traffic as when you attempt to cross the street fast moving vehicles often fail to slow down. If you are hit by a car, and it will happen, teleport directly from the scene otherwise humans insist you have to go to hospital.  
> 14\. Often when you are sitting in bars a human may approach you and may ask something like, ‘did it hurt when you fell from heaven?’ ‘yes’ is not an acceptable reply. The human was using a ‘pick-up line’ in an attempt to seduce you.  
> 15\. Humans lie. A lot. Sometimes it can be hard to know what is the truth and what is a lies, so it is best to ask one of the Winchesters. They are professional liars and know when humans are lying.


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning Sam was awakened by the familiar sound of his alarm. Hitting the ‘off’ button, he threw back his covers, stood up and stretched with a groan.  His joints were still a little stiff from the night spent in a bed that even a short person would have found uncomfortably small.

Sam changed quickly into his running gear. He wanted to get some fresh air and exercise before the long drive back to Bobby’s.

As Sam walked towards the door he heard the low noise of the television. He figured that Dean had forgotten to turn it off last night before he went to bed but he quickly realised his mistake when he noticed Mariangela and Castiel sitting on the sofa watching the early morning infomercials.

Castiel was quietly explaining to Mariangela how people called on a ‘cellphone’ or ‘telephone’ to order the items they were showing on the TV. Mariangela nodded thoughtfully.

_They seem to be getting on well_ , Sam thought to himself.

Sam cleared his throat to attract their attention. The angels looked up.

‘I’m going for a run. I’ll be back soon,’ he said.

Castiel nodded and turned his attention back to the infomercials. Mariangela copied his actions.

Once Sam returned from his run and showered it was time to shove Dean awake. After some none-too-gentle poking and prodding Dean was finally awake and, after brushing his teeth and throwing on a clean shirt, he too was ready for the road.

Once Sam and Dean had packed the Impala trunk with all their equipment and research they went into the motel room one last time.

‘Are you coming with us or will we meet you there?’ Sam asked the angels.

‘I do not know,’ answered Castiel. He turned to Mariangela, ‘Are you able to teleport yet?’

Mariangela closed her eyes for a moment. Castiel did not miss her wince. She re-opened her eyes and shook her head.

‘We shall go with you,’ Castiel said decisively to Sam.

The team left behind the motel room and walked towards the Impala. Castiel opened the door for Mariangela. He then joined her in the back seat.

Dean turned the keys and revved the engine.

They set off on the long journey that would be mostly filled with loud mullet rock and discussions of the Demon Carnival Case.


	13. Chapter 13

After a long day’s drive the Winchesters and the Angels finally arrived at Bobby’s.

Bobby had walked out to meet them, carefully eyeing up the new addition to their group, shotgun nonchalantly in hand. It appeared Bobby wasn’t in the mood for taking chances.

After the customary tests of holy water and silver Bobby was apparently satisfied that Mariangela was indeed an angel and not some other creature in disguise. He still did not seem overly happy for her to be there, but he passed no comment. Bobby wasn’t really a ‘people person’ and he sure as hell wasn’t an ‘angel person.’

‘What are you going to do with her?’ he asked, looking at Mariangela but talking to the Winchesters.

Sam and Dean shrugged in unison. They weren’t really sure what to do with her. In fact it was one of the reasons why they were at Bobby’s in the first place.

Bobby grunted and walked into his house. Taking it as an invitation to come inside, the brothers walked in, the angels following behind them. Dean didn’t miss Bobby carefully eyeing up Mariangela as she walked over the salt lines at the front door and past the demons trap hidden under the old, faded mat. Apparently a little more satisfied than before, Bobby put down the shotgun onto the kitchen table and walked into his ‘study.’

Once every one was more comfortably settled, Castiel and Mariangela standing in the background, merely observing, Sam, Dean and Bobby sitting down with cool beers in hand, the discussions began.

‘Well Bobby what are we gonna do?’ Dean asked. ‘We’ve lost the Carnival and we have no way to track them down until the disappearances start again. We have no leads and research is proving friggin’ useless.’

Bobby sipped his beer slowly before saying cautiously, ‘I don’t know if tracking down that Carnival is the best thing for you boys to do.’

It was clear he was hiding something.

‘What? Why? We know so much more than we did before. We’ll find them again Bobby,’ said Sam, determination in his voice.

Bobby didn’t answer. Instead he drained the ends of his beer and turned to his bottle of scotch.

‘Come on Bobby,’ Dean said, trying to convince him to talk.

After a fortifying swig of scotch Bobby began to speak. ‘There’s a bounty on your head, boys. The demons at the carnival must have called it when you rescued the angel. To go after the carnival full of demons who want you dead in the first place would be stupid, but now with the added incentive of the bounty, it would be suicide, plain and simple.’

The Winchesters were silent. Bobby took another swig from the bottle of scotch, deliberately avoiding eye contact.

‘But-’Dean began.

‘No buts, Dean.’ Bobby interrupted. ‘Leave this one to some other hunters. I could get a group of ten or more hunters across the country rounded up. Hold a countrywide search for the carnival. Then take it down.’

It was clear Bobby had given this some thought.

‘Okay Bobby, if you think that it’s the best way to handle things,’ Sam said.

Dean didn’t agree. He hated the idea of giving up on a case, accepting defeat.

‘It’s our case,’ Dean protested, his anger and frustration rising.

‘I think what Bobby is suggesting is the best course of action here,’ said Castiel from the back of the room.

Dean growled. Castiel’s contribution had only served to anger him more. He slammed the beer onto Bobby’s desk and stormed out of the room.

‘Go after your brother,’ Bobby told Sam.

Sam shook his head and sighed, ‘I’m going to let him cool down for a while. This case has really been getting to him. It’s just been dead end after dead-end.’

Sam took a large gulp of his beer and sighed, he couldn’t fault Dean for his anger. Sam had seen his own fair share of rage. It was frustrating to see a case falling through your very fingers.

Sam and Bobby sat in silence, consumed by their thoughts.

No one, with the exception of Castiel, noticed Mariangela leave the house behind Dean.

He decided to remain silent.


	14. Chapter 14

Dean was pissed off. It was an all too familiar feeling these days. Nothing seemed to go to plan anymore. It seemed like the world was sticking up a big middle finger, and Dean was its intended audience.

Keen to take his frustrations out on something, anything, Dean had stormed out of Bobby’s house. Making his way over to the scrap yard Dean stormed around angrily, frustration building. He kicked the rim of an old scrapper that was more rust than salvageable metal and parts. He cursed when the rim fell off and hit his leg, a punishment for his anger.

Karma was a bitch.

The injury only served to heighten Dean’s anger. He kicked the car one last time, a pathetic revenge against the inanimate object. He then turned around quickly, planning to walk off the pain in his leg.

Instead he walked into Mariangela. She must have followed him out of the house. And, in his short tempered, anger fuelled state; he hadn’t noticed her leave with him.

Dean did not want company right now. Especially not from his most recently acquired pain in his ass.

‘Get lost,’ Dean said, still filled to the brim with frustration.

Mariangela heard him, but didn’t move.

She looked him straight in the eyes, her gaze unwavering.

Despite his anger Dean felt guilty for being rude. She had done nothing wrong.

Knowingly or not, Mariangela could play him like a violin. Her wide eyes were too innocent for his anger to stay directed at her for too long.

Dean wondered if all fallen angels looked so much like lost puppies or if it was just the two that he had been landed with.

‘I’m sorry,’ Dean sighed.

Mariangela nodded, accepting his apology. She placed a hand mechanically on his shoulder to comfort him but it was a foreign gesture to her and it lacked conviction. It was clear she was just repeating the motion she had seen Bobby do previously in the day when he had greeted the brothers, but the sentiment was earnest.

Dean laughed his rage slipping.

Mariangela placed a hand to his mouth and then to her ear. It was a gesture meant to say something, but Dean didn’t understand. Mariangela repeated the movement, touching Dean’s mouth and then her ear.

‘I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me,’ Dean said, looking a little lost. The bridging of the conversational barrier still required a lot of work.

‘Oh!’ he said. Suddenly he understood.

‘You want me to talk so that you can listen.’

Mariangela nodded.

Dean shook his head, no way was that going to happen. He didn’t need an angelic therapist. He looked back at Mariangela, she was still staring.

Dean stared back.

But Dean wasn’t as stubborn as he had given himself credit for. Soon he broke under Mariangela’s unwavering gaze.

Dean began to talk and Mariangela looked contented.

Dean talked about how frustrating the case was. Despite the fact that he babbled on for a long time Mariangela never once stopped paying attention. With Mariangela unable to reply it felt a lot less a conversation and more like an emotional outpouring, something Dean rarely got a chance to do. It seemed like Sam and Dean did a lot of talking but neither did a lot of listening, but Mariangela seemed completely content to sit and listen to Dean ramble on and on, unable to properly convey what he meant, stumbling over words, repeating himself as he tried to figure out what he felt and what he wanted to do.

The sun was sinking, turning the sky a hazy pink and purple once Dean had finished talking. He felt a lot better. His head felt a lot clearer. His rage was gone.

Initially Dean had complained about Bobby’s suggestion of taking a step back from the Demon Carnival case, cursing Bobby and his brother for their words.  But after a while of talking about it, thinking about it and mulling it over, Dean understood where Bobby and Sam were coming from. He was grateful Mariangela had offered to lend an ear.

‘Thanks Maury,’ Dean joked.

Mariangela shook her head, missing the humour in his voice.

Maury was not her name.

‘It’s a joke,’ Dean explained.

Mariangela nodded but furrowed her brows. She really wasn’t getting it. Dean ignored her. At this stage it was pretty much typical angel behaviour.

‘I think it’s time to go back inside,’ Dean said, shivering a little. It was getting chilly.

They both made their way back into Bobby’s house.


	15. Chapter 15

When Dean and Mariangela re-entered the house it was clear that Sam and Bobby expected to be on the receiving end of some of Dean’s seriously pent-up anger; some yelling, perhaps some fists flying.

What they did not expect was for Dean to sigh and say resignedly, ‘You guys were right. It probably is better leaving the Demon Carnival case up to someone else.’

Bobby’s eyebrows flew up in surprise and Sam gave a shocked laugh. With the situation was resolved far more easily that they would have thought, there was not time to dwell on Dean’s change of heart. It was time to move on to the next case.

A suspected witch problem two states over.

‘A number of people have been found dead in unusual circumstances, all of them are males in their late twenties to early thirties,’ Bobby told the Winchester, reading information he had circled in a number of newspapers and scribbled on countless loose sheets. ‘All were killed in groups of two to four. The victims were usually close friends or family.’

Sam stared at Bobby for a moment.

‘Are you sending us as hunters or as bait, Bobby?’ he asked suspiciously.

‘It’s a little of both,’ admitted Bobby, ‘but there are too many people dying and living in fear for their brothers, sons, husbands and friends. You need to do something.’

Sam and Dean nodded.

Castiel was more cautious, ‘It could easily be a trap to lure Sam and Dean to town.’

‘We’ll just have to be careful then,’ said Dean. With his rage subsided Dean was back to his cocksure self.

Castiel argued no further.

The team spent the night at Bobby’s as it was already late, choosing to leave the next morning. Bobby took the opportunity to talk a little to the angels.

‘Are you feeling any better, Mariangela?’ he asked kindly.

Mariangela nodded.

‘That’s good,’ said Bobby. He looked to Castiel for a more verbal report of how she was doing.

‘She no longer needs sleep,’ Castiel explained. ‘Hopefully within a few days to a few weeks, depending on how much time she had to peacefully heal, she will feel much better.’

Bobby smiled and patted both of the angels on the back affectionately. Mariangela looked confused, but not uncomfortable, at the sign of affection. Her expression was that of someone trying to figure something out.

She turned to Castiel and patted him on the back too. Correctly interpreting this gesture as a sign of affection Castiel said, ‘thank you,’ rather seriously.

Castiel then placed a hand on Mariangela’s shoulder, returning the sign of affection. Bobby laughed at the awkward exchange between the two angels, who were trying to become friends.  It was nice to see something so sweet and innocent in the dark world Bobby and Winchester’s resided in.


	16. Chapter 16

They left Bobby’s in the morning.

On the road again, things quickly fell into a pattern. It was pretty much like before Mariangela gate-crashed the party. She failed to contribute much to the group conversation and as such, remained largely ignored. The only real moment of interest the whole journey was when Dean decided to turn on the radio and Mariangela, fascinated by the noise, leant forward and touched the radio gently, only to cause the music to stop and sparks to fly dangerously. She quickly jerked back her hand, accurately guessing that it was not correct protocol for a radio to emit sparks.

Dean swore and Mariangela looked desperately at Castiel.

‘She’s sorry, Dean’ Castiel said.

The radio wasn’t broken so Dean begrudgingly let it slide with a reluctant grunt.

As a result of the radio incident, Mariangela was a lot more cautious touching things. In fact she tried to not touch anything at all for the rest of the day. When the long journey was finished and the team checked into the motel she did not even touch anything in the room instead allowing Castiel, Sam and Dean to sort their things whilst she stood in the corner of the room afraid to make a sound, or as a matter of fact, movement.

Sam felt sorry for Mariangela. He decided to show her a few things, such as his laptop and his phone to allow her to become slightly more familiar with human technology. Mariangela was tentative at first, like a stray dog that had been kicked one too many times. Gradually she became less fearful and more fascinated.

Sam even managed to teach Mariangela how to make a phone call, even if Dean felt the need point out it was an entirely useless concept. She couldn’t say anything over the line.  But it was clear that Mariangela was happy with learning new information.

As Dean and Castiel left to go to the library to get some research books, Sam stayed with Mariangela showing her how to receive calls and even play with an app  or two.

Later that evening when Dean and Castiel returned from the library, tomes in hand, Mariangela was excited to show her new knowledge off to Castiel.

She seemed a little disappointed when she discovered that, not only had Castiel mastered making phone calls, but he also had his own cell phone.

Mariangela spent a little more time messing about with Castiel’s cell phone. Occasionally Castiel pointed out what little he knew about them too. Mariangela seemed enthralled at the concept of a device used by humans for long distance communication. Sam was, admittedly, not so enthralled at the phone bill she was racking up constantly making calls from Sam’s phone to Castiel’s phone and vice versa.

Nevertheless the evening was spent in companionably trawling through tome upon tome. A dozen empty beer bottles and two empty pizza boxes adorned the dining table, along with a mountain of books, a pile of sheets and a laptop. Very little has yielded any information.

Finally Sam and Dean decided that little more could be done until they figured out how the victims died and what the crime scenes had looked like. They decided to call it a night. They would check out the crime scenes in the morning in the hopes they would yield some new information.


	17. Chapter 17

The Winchester’s awoke in the morning, not overly eager to be spending the day trawling through crime scenes that were almost a week old.

It would be a miracle if they found anything of use.

However, it seemed a miracle they would get.

A miraculous town tragedy.

There had been another attack during the night.

Two brothers had been killed as they walked home from their job in a bar in town.

Sam had heard the call on the police scanners just as he had left the shower. He had awakened Dean straight away so he could listen to it too.

The brothers, both fully awake and now, fully dressed in their stuffy FBI suits were ready to go explore the crime scene.

Once at the scene they flashed their convincing, but ever so fake, badges and were quickly filled in with the situation.

The victims had been quiet and unassuming, just two men one their way home from work. One had a previous conviction for drunk and disorderly, the other had a clean record. They had nothing to explain why they had been murdered so suddenly. Both men were happily in relationships, no enemies, no pissed exes, not even any unpaid bills. Both died in the street just outside the bar, seemingly both at exactly the same time.

Sam snooped around a little as Dean talked to a bereaved girlfriend, consoling her whilst questioning her for any further information.

Sam found something interesting and cleared his throat. Dean excused himself and made his way over to his brother. Sam had picked up a small velvet bag tied closed with a leather thong.

It was a Hex Bag.

A quick search of the area revealed another Hex Bag.

The brothers shared look as they left the scene, Hex Bags in their pockets.

Well, now they had a lead.

When the brothers returned to the motel room they quickly filled the angels in on the details they had missed. At least now the Winchesters knew that a witch was behind the deaths. However as to why a witch was doing it, they were still unsure. A little more research and by late evening the Winchesters had a small pile of information in front of them on the cases which had unfolded in the town.

‘The incidents began five days ago,’ Sam read from the notes, recapping the situation. ‘Since then over nine incidents have occurred.’

The police radio crackled into life. A blurry voice relayed numbers and an address.

‘Ah hell,’ Dean said. ‘Make that ten.’

 There had been another attack.

 A quick trip to the crime scene revealed three more corpses, all brothers. A little snooping and searching revealed three Hex Bags.

The bags were velvet with leather thong ties.

This had to be the work of the same witch.

And the attacks were getting more frequent.

Returning to the motel once again became obvious that Sam and Dean just did not have the time to search every crime scene for the Hex bags. Every hour that passed was another hour that the trail was going cold. Another hour where more deaths could occur.

‘How about we split into two groups,’ Sam suggested. ‘Dean, you and I travel to half the crime scenes. Mariangela and Castiel, you take the other half.’

‘That’s fine by me Sammy’ Dean replied. ‘There’s no way in hell I’m spending all day playing Easter Egg Hunts with Hex Bags.’

Sam looked at the angels. They seemed content to do what he had suggested.

The brother’s and the angels split up.

Five hours, and twenty seven Hex Bags later it was definitely without question that the deaths in town were caused by the same witch.

Now all the team needed to do was track her down, and find out why she was killing people.

Sam and Dean examined their notes a little longer hoping they’d missed a name, or an address, anything. It was proving rather fruitless.

 Suddenly Mariangela stood up. She was looking intently at the notes over Dean’s shoulder, pointing to where he had scribbled the date from five days ago.

She pointed to herself.

Dean looked confused, but Sam got to the uptake slightly more quickly.

‘These attacks began five days ago; the same day we attacked the Demon Carnival,’ said Sam.

‘And why does attacking a demon camp five days ago have anything to do with the murdering of brothers in a different state,’ Dean demanded. ‘Especially now that we know it isn’t a demon killing these men, but a witch?’

Sam shrugs, ‘It’s a little but too much of a coincidence to write it off completely, Dean.’

‘You two may have angered demon supporters or allies. There are many out there and they are easy to offend,’ Castiel suggested. ‘They could be trying to get their revenge. It would not be unheard of.’

Dean shrugged and yawned. It was late. He could handle a pissed off demon fan-girl.

‘Why don’t we continue our work in the morning?’ he suggested, ‘there is nothing we can do at this hour and I’m beat, man. I need some sleep.’

Sam agreed. He closed his laptop and reshuffled his research, eager to prepare for bed.

‘Then I will spend the night searching for witches covens or areas where there are signs a witch would frequent.’ Castiel said, unwilling to let his night go to waste.

‘Great idea,’ said Dean. There was less chance of Castiel being spotted snooping about under the cover of darkness.

Dean and Sam turned out the lights and fell asleep almost instantly. It had been a long day. Soon the only noise in the room was some soft snoring from one of the brothers.

Seemingly forgotten in the late hour and exhaustion, Mariangela stood in the corner of the room silently.

But Castiel had remembered she was there.

‘Guard the brothers’ he told her. ‘I will not be gone long, a few hours at most.’

 She nodded and Castiel left the room with the sound of beating wings.


	18. Chapter 18

The first hour passed for Mariangela in relative silence, the only noise was a continuous yet gentle snoring from one of the brothers and the occasional _woosh_ of traffic on the road outside.

The second hour passed the similarly, the snoring continued and the traffic remained constant.

A car pulled out of the motel, its headlights making a momentary difference in scene as its lights temporarily illuminated the motel room.

On the third hour everything remained the same, Mariangela shifted her weight onto her other foot, not out of necessity but for more for a little change.

And that’s when the snoring stopped.

It ceased instantly and unnaturally.

Like someone had pressed mute on a remote control.

There was noise.

Then there was none.

It was as if the very traffic had disappeared too.

Alerted by this change Mariangela silently made her way towards the beds where the Winchesters were asleep. Bearing in mind what Castiel had told her about personal space she kept a respectful distance but her concern was evoked when she found she couldn’t hear them breathing like she had been able to do, just moments before. And she knew that humans had to breathe, must breathe, and should be breathing.

This was not Typical Human Behaviour.

Mariangela placed a hand on Sam’s wrist. His pulse was too fast for typical human health. Alarmed, she fumbled with the bedside lamp, unfamiliar with how it worked. Finally she found the switch, the light flared to reveal both Sam and Dean were awake. Their eyes were wide. Their lips had turned blue. No air was entering or escaping their lungs.

They seemed to be trying to reach their throats but their bodies were rigid, trapped in a Rigor Vitae.  Mariangela’s eyes filled with fear when she noticed the trickle of blood run out of Sam’s nose and the small line of blood which had made its way from Dean’s ear.

She ran from their side and began to dismantle the room in an attempt to find the Hex Bags. They had to be somewhere. They had to be what was causing this.

Mariangela knew what to do when she found the bags, she had seen the brothers destroy the others earlier that day but she couldn’t find them. She needed to find them.

Panic began to set in.

Knowing that she mightn’t be quick enough to find the bags on her own, Mariangela picked up Sam’s phone and called Castiel. Holding the phone to her ear she kept rummaging through the motel room to try and find the bags.

Castiel answered quickly, ‘Sam, what’s wrong?’ he said.

Unable to reply Mariangela kept the phone at her ear and continued searching desperately.

‘Sam? Sam? Is everything alright? Are you there?’ asked Castiel. ‘Mariangela, is that you? Something is wrong. I shall return immediately’

With a fluttering of wings, Castiel returned.

Castiel saw the brothers and looked shocked. Before he had the time to ask questions Mariangela triumphantly held up a small Hex Bag which had been tucked under Sam’s mattress. She ran to Dean’s bed and found the other in the same place.

A quick introduction to Dean’s lighter, with Castiel’s assistance and the Hex Bags were no more.

Both angels turned immediately to see how the brothers were doing. They could only hope that the destruction of the Hex Bags would reverse its effects.

Or that it wouldn’t be too late.

Both Sam and Dean lay unmoving, unconscious but alive.

Their skin was pallid, their bluish veins frighteningly visible.

Mariangela looked scared at what had happened to the brothers. She stepped over to them and reached her hand out to touch their foreheads. Castiel stopped her.

‘They will be fine,’ Castiel said. ‘They can heal themselves. You must maintain your healing energy for yourself. You are not yet back to full health.’

 Mariangela didn’t look convinced but acquiesced.

She observed the brothers intently. Taking in every faint hue of colour which returned to their skin as the oxygen once again began to flow.

A few minutes later Dean jolted back to consciousness. He sat bolt upright and gasped for air He was followed less than a minute later by Sam who echoed the process.

‘What the hell just happened?’ asked Dean, still regaining his breath.

Sam could only nod in agreement, he rubbed his throat cautiously. It was as if he was worried it would betray him once again and fail to function.

‘It seems that the witch we are hunting made an attempt on your life. There were two Hex Bags in this room, one under each bed. It seems like you two were intended to become the next tragedy in town. Mariangela managed to call me and find and destroy the two Hex Bags.’ Castiel answered.

Mariangela went into the bathroom. She returned a few moments later with some moist towels for Sam and Dean to wipe away the blood which had trickled from their eyes, ears, nose and mouth.

Once cleaned up Sam and Dean looked and felt a lot better and looked slightly more human again. Looking around at the blood on the sheets, the mess of the room and the scorch marks on the tables Dean joked, ‘We are so not getting the deposit back.’

The joke fell flat.

Even he didn’t laugh.

The angels looked as if the deposit was the least of their concerns.

Sam merely rolled his eyes at his brother’s joke and the angels deadpan reactions.

‘Thank you Mariangela,’ Sam said earnestly.

‘Yeah,’ agreed Dean, ‘you really saved our asses back there.’

Mariangela nodded but she still looked concerned.

Noting this concern Castiel said, ‘Sam and Dean will be alright, I can guarantee this. Please, stop worrying.’

Regardless, Mariangela still looked unsure.

‘What is she worrying about?’ asked Sam.

‘You and your brother,’ replied Castiel. ‘It is mostly likely due to the fact that she is not used to being around humans. She doesn’t understand how you heal. To her it appears that humans are healing at a snail’s pace. It is understandingly worrying.’

Dean looked at Castiel, ‘Is there any way you can make her understand that we’ll be fine?’ he asked.

Castiel looked at Mariangela thoughtfully for a moment.

Castiel walked towards Mariangela purposefully and gave her a hug. It was a great, bone-crushingly tight and mildly suffocating, bear hug. Mariangela found herself picked up, feet high off the ground in Castiel’s embrace. The hug could not have been more awkward if it had tried. Castiel was robotic in his movement, as if a hug was only something he had learned about through academic research.

Mariangela did not try to reciprocate to hug, she just allowed Castiel to pick her up and set her down again. It looked like she was used to this sort of thing.

Setting her down, Castiel explained to the brothers, ‘I thought it might help. Seraphim spend the majority of their time around other Seraphim or Cherubim. They are a far more… affectionate race. A hug can mean anything from a form of greeting to a sign of reassurance. ’

Sam and Dean understood. They had encountered a Cherub before. It was not an experience that one found easily forgotten.

But it did not seem awkward to Mariangela, in fact it seemed to have been just the ticket. She didn’t seem to notice the Winchester’s laughter, instead she tentatively she returned the hug with Castiel, but to was a more human gesture, a gentle circling of her small arms around his waist.

Her hug involved less suffocation and lifting, and more emotion.

It could have been residual adrenaline from the Hex Bag incident lingering or just a trick of the light, but Sam could have sworn he saw a faint blush appearing on Castiel’s cheeks.


	19. Chapter 19

The sun had still not risen. It was early but Sam and Dean had gotten enough sleep for one night. They threw on their jeans and shirts and got straight back to work.

‘Well Cass, find anything interesting before you were called back to the motel?’ asked Dean, his voice still a little rough from the attack.

I did,’ Castiel replied, ‘There is a coven in town which seems to be mass producing Hex Bags. I managed to take one.’

Castiel placed the Hex Bag on the small bedside table. It was the same velvet and leather bag as the Hex Bags they had found at the crime scenes and just moments ago, in their room.

Dean pulled the leather thong holding the bag closed to look inside.

 It contained the same ingredients too.

They had found the source but it wasn’t one witch. It was a coven.

‘Why don’t we just get our guns and shoot those sons of bitches down?’ grumbled Dean angrily, throwing the Hex Bag onto the table, then burning it for good measure.

‘Maybe not our best tactic,’ said Sam sarcastically. ‘If we kill the coven we’ll never know why the witches were doing this. It doesn’t seem to fit into any ritual or sacrifices. Now that we know it’s a coven rather than a single witch we need to be more careful. If we just gank the coven, chances are, another coven will just pick up where they left off.’

Dean looked confused.

‘Look,’ Sam explained. ‘Whatever these witches are doing, their end plan has to be pretty big. I’d guarantee something this big means that any other covens in the area know about it too. You know how witches just love to work together.’

Dean grumbled but agreed.

Damn witches.

‘Hey Cass, where did you find the bags?’ asked Sam.

‘A building just outside of town,’ replied Castiel. ‘It looked like an office block, or a company building.’

A little research into the building gave the brothers a name.

The owner of the building was called Frances Harris.

Frances Harris was a thirty something entrepreneur and sole owner of a highly successful business just outside of town. A customary search on police databases revealed that she had no previous record except two convictions of trespassing and one conviction of grave desecration.

The trespassing convictions were both from large country estates and the grave was over one hundred years old. The convictions were all over ten years old and at the time had been chalked up to peer pressure from older friends and youthful disrespect.

‘No new convictions in ten years?’ asked Sam, ‘maybe she’s seen the error of her ways.’

‘Or maybe she just gotten better at not getting caught,’ said Dean, finishing Sam’s thoughts.

‘Yup,’ said Sam,’ and these convictions are not uncommon for someone looking for ingredients. Large country estates have huge gardens with a variety of different plants. That’s perfect if you’re looking for a specific herb or flower for a potion or a spell. The database says that she desecrated an old grave, one hundred years old. These spells and potions aren’t light magic. Hundred-year bones only appear in very dark spells and potions. We have to take her and her coven seriously.’

Dean looked at Sam. He accepted that all Sam’s information was valuable but he couldn’t resist saying, ‘Nerd.’

There was a hint of pride in his voice though.

‘We need to check out this building further,’ said Dean, ‘but we can’t go now, we’ll have to wait until it is night time.’

‘Until then we should try to figure out who else is involved in the coven,’ agreed Sam.

Dean sighed. He was bored already of the research they hadn’t even started.

‘I’ll go and get some coffee,’ he said.

Dean stood up and gestured for Mariangela to follow him, rather confused she did so.

It was a short walk to get the coffee and the journey was spent in silence.

In the store Dean ordered two coffees and a dozen doughnuts. While he waited for them to be prepared he turned to Mariangela, he cleared his throat awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.

‘Uh, thank you, for saving me. Well, not only for saving me, but for saving Sammy.’ Dean said awkwardly.

Dean hadn’t really acknowledged Mariangela as a proper presence. She had just been some stray they had found and taken in for a while.

Mariangela’s silence made it all too easy to ignore her and forget she was there. Something Dean admitted to himself, he had done. But there was no denying her presence now. He wouldn’t go all movie cliché and say that he owed her his life but there was a definite debt to be repaid. He looked down to the ground awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.

Mariangela crouched so she could look Dean in the eyes, the very thing he was avoiding. She didn’t seem to understand that he was avoiding her gaze. He straightened up and stood properly and Mariangela echoed his movements. He chuckled a little. It was hard to avoid angels, they were so direct.

Mariangela evidently wished to tell him something too, she touched her neck gently. Dean didn’t understand. So she touched his throat gently.

It took Dean a few guesses to understand.

She was asking if he felt better from the attack.

‘Oh, yeah, I’m feeling better now. A little sore, but what do you expect?’ said Dean.

Mariangela’s lips curved, into what Dean would swear to be a small smile of relief and Dean smiled back.

There was something so innocent about Mariangela, the angel who couldn’t speak, that Dean couldn’t help but like.

She hadn’t a bad bone in her body. Mariangela was how Dean imagined angels in his youth, full of love and care and concern for the human race.

Dean understood her motives now for sticking up for Castiel in Heaven, even if it was horrific what happened as a result. She just wanted to protect the humans.

Dean was torn from his thought by someone clearing their throat, it was the cashier. His food and coffee was ready. Dean turned to the desk in front of him, threw down the correct amount of cash and picked up the doughnuts and coffee.

He handed the box of doughnuts to Mariangela to carry back.

She looked pleased to be of assistance.

Dean was torn from his thought by someone clearing their throat, it was the cashier. His food and coffee was ready. Dean turned to the desk in front of him, threw down the correct amount of cash and picked up the doughnuts and coffee.

He handed the box of doughnuts to Mariangela to carry back.

She looked pleased to be of assistance.


	20. Chapter 20

When Dean and Mariangela finally returned, Sam and Castiel had already begun researching. No rest for the wicked and all that.

Noting Mariangela carrying the box of doughnuts Sam joked, ‘That box too heavy for you to carry all by yourself, Dean?’

‘Bite me,’ was his dry reply.

‘I think that it is very unlikely that the box is too heavy, Sam,’ Castiel said, entirely missing the joke. ‘It appears the contents are doughnuts. They do not weight very much at all.’

Mariangela nodded her agreement.

Sam groaned at the doughnuts, not wishing to be eating crap so early in the morning. Hadn’t his brother heard of fresh fruit? Sam settled with just the coffee and ignored Dean who had rolled his eyes at Sam’s judging and picked up a doughnut in each hand, eating them hungrily.

The group resumed their research, attempting to find plausible members of the coven.

‘On her website biography it mentions she has a numbers of clubs and interests,’ said Dean, mouth filled with doughnut. ‘One of these is a reading club which she holds with some old college friends once a week.’

Sam nodded, it sounded like a plausible line of inquiry. But there was no way to know for sure that it was Francis Harris and her associates unless they went the warehouse and caught them in the act.

Damn.

A little more research and the Winchesters discovered that the reading club were going to meet tomorrow night at 7pm. There was truly nothing better than an easily hacked Facebook group to plan your weekly witching activities.

This gave the team just over a day to prepare.

Castiel had examined the warehouse once again, to ensure that there were no concealed Hex Bags to harm the team. There was not. So Castiel returned to the motel room, confirming that the room was indeed safe.

Sam spent the night making charmed necklaces to ward off most witch spells. Necklace would be a highly generous term. They were in actuality small leather pouches attached to a piece of string.

Practicality beat aesthetics in their production. They didn’t look pretty but they would sure as hell work.

Sam gave a necklace to Dean, who put it on immediately. He wished to avoid a repeat of last night.

Sam gave another to Castiel who took the necklace and held it in his hand. Sam gave another one to Mariangela who copied Castiel’s actions.

Once Sam had placed his own over necklace his head Castel asked him, ‘Why have you given Mariangela a necklace?’

‘So she won’t get hexed in the fighting. They will protect us from Hex Bags and hopefully the majority of spells,’ was Sam’s reply.

Castiel looks confused.

‘Seraphim are not a warrior class of angels, but are instead one of the higher orders who guard God’s throne.’ He explained slowly. His tone implied Sam and Dean should have already known this information. ‘The fighting is left to the warrior angels such as myself. Seraphim stay in heaven. Mariangela does not even have an angel-blade.’

Dean made an exasperated noise

‘What?’ he said. ‘well that’s just great, friggin’ dandy.’

That was one less person to assist in the fight against the coven. One less angel.

‘Keep the necklace on anyway, Mariangela’ said Sam.

Mariangela nodded and placed the necklace around her neck.

It was clear from Mariangela’s expression that she was rather sad she could not be with Castiel and the brothers, but she did not seem overly eager to be involved in fighting. If anything she looked a little left out, like the last kid picked in gym class when the other kids were in charge of picking teams.

Mariangela was not entirely left out, however. Not just yet at least.

She and Castiel teleported into Harris’ office one last time that night to ensure there was no information lying around, no spells written in ancient leather-bound tomes, no tea-stained pictures of Sam and Dean in black and white bearing the caption ‘Wanted Dead or Alive,’ no file left carefully on a table carefully explaining the witches evil deeds, anything which may give a little insight into the witch’s motives.

Unfortunately there was nothing that obvious.

However, whilst looking around Castiel found a secret alcove in the wall he had missed when he had previously examined the room.

Situated behind a forgettable oil painting, the large indent in the wall contained a safe.

The giant safe was old and virtually impenetrable. The spells cast on it by the witches had rendered impossible for the angels to teleport into. And Castiel didn’t know how to open it.

He could sense a large number of powerful books behind the safe door. It had reminded him faintly of Bobby’s house and the plethora of powerful books he contained there. This coven had some seriously powerful information at their disposal.

Unable to enter the safe Castiel re-joined Mariangela in searching the various documents in the room. They found some sheets, hidden in a box of documents which were next to the shredder. Evidently Francis Harris had wished to get rid of the documents as soon as possible.

Castiel picked them up and took them back to the motel.

Once Castiel and Mariangela returned from Harris’ office, Castiel filled Sam and Dean in on what they had seen.

‘There is a large safe in the office,’ Castiel explained. ‘I can feel the dark power of the book radiating, even through the thick metal. There must be hundreds of books on dark magic but I was unable to get to them without arousing suspicion. Any attempt to enter the safe would have triggered a serious of dangerous spells.  These sheets however, we found hidden in a pile of other sheets that were supposed to be destroyed. They seem to be of value.’

He placed the sheets on the table.

A little customary reading revealed they really were of value.

Jackpot.

The sheets were essentially blueprints of the attacks. Francis Harris truly had been stupid to leave these sheets out, they should have been burned or buried, not placed in a ‘to shred’ pile.

Sam and Dean scoured the sheets for the next half an hour. They learnt that the attacks were planned in advance. The targets were spotted and then Hex Bags were placed in areas where the targets were likely to be.

Sam and Dean now knew _how_ the witches were targeting the victims but they could not figure out _why_. Frustratingly the sheets provided no information to answer that.

It was baffling for the brothers. Usually witches were a lot more precise, with explicit targets in mind.

‘Maybe they’re working under someone else’s orders,’ guessed Sam. ‘That is why the attacks are so random. They aren’t sure who they are trying to get with the Hex Bags. Maybe they still haven’t killed their intended targets because they don’t know who they are.’

‘At the risk of sounding a little ego-fuelled I think it’s safe to assume the target is us,’ said Dean.

Sam agreed.

‘That’s probably why we were drawn here in the first place. They were using the previous victims as bait. They were probably just attacking at random until it attracted us.’

Sam is silent for a moment.

‘Their attempt on our life last night was supposed to work,’ Sam said slowly. ‘And then because it didn’t work it wasn’t reported in the news. So it’s very likely that they know now that they were unsuccessful.’

Dean swore. So many people had died just to draw them to this stupid town and with every passing minute the chances that the witches would learn that they were unsuccessful were growing greater and greater.

Only the great Bobby Singer could hope to summarise the situation with a succinct elegance.

_Oh Balls._


	21. Chapter 21

Time passed quickly and before they knew it, it was time for Castiel and the Winchesters to ambush the factory.

These killings had to end tonight.

When they arrived on the scene, the building was dark. It looked empty. The only light to be seen was in Frances Harris’ office. There were no guards anywhere, no flickering of movement, not even the faint tell-tale glow of a security guards flashlight. The witches inside were either stupid or the Winchesters and Castiel truly had the element of surprise.

Guns and Angel Blade at the ready, the brothers and Castiel made their way quietly to the office door. Dean looked down at the faint glow shining at the foot of the door, looking to see if a shadow passed by or if there was any hint of movement. There was not. He looked up, nodded and kicked down the door.

They ran into the office.

Half prepared Hex bags in hand and spell books on lap, Sam, Dean and Castiel had caught the witches in the act.

The witches looked up shocked for their seated position at a table.

There was a moment of silence before the fight broke out, a moment for the surprised witches to recover, for their brains to figure out what was happening. Castiel, Sam and Dean did not need the recovery time, they attacked swiftly and ruthlessly. Within seconds of the fight breaking out, four of the nine witches were dead. It seemed that their fighting skills were not on par with their skills of witchcraft.

‘Why did you kill those men?’ growled Dean, confronting the remaining witches.

Once of the witches, terrified out of her mind, was trembling visibly. Under Dean’s glare she broke easily.

‘We were offered money if we killed them,’ she said, her voice panicked. ‘We weren’t going to do it face to face we were going to use spells and Hex Bags. We didn’t mean to kill so many but we just couldn’t find our target!’

‘Yeah, that would be us, sweetheart,’ Dean said.

The witch paled to an ugly shade of grey and Dean continued, ‘There’s a bounty on our heads, but we already knew that.’

‘Why couldn’t you find us?’ asked Sam, ‘Why did you have to kill so many people?’

The witch looked ill. ‘The message was so vague,’ she said. ‘We didn’t know any specific details.’

‘Keep talking,’ said Sam, his eyes dark.

‘We kept our targets in groups of two to four and we went after brothers and close friends. We didn’t know if they meant blood brothers or brothers in arms. It was too vague, we didn’t know!’

‘Why was it so vague?’ Sam growled.

The witch hesitated. Sam and Dean both pointed their guns to her head.

‘It was hard to communicate with them!’

‘Who?’ asked Dean, gun held steadily to a point between the witches eyes.

‘The Demons!’ she said desperately.

So the demon carnival took out a supernatural hit on the Winchester brothers but instead of demons being the ones to carry out their dirty work they had witches to do it for them.

Whilst the brothers looked at each other, processing the information they had just been given, one of the witches tried to make her escape, mistaking the brothers glance at each other as distraction.

She began to cast a spell but Castiel threw his Angel Blade at her with an expert nonchalance.

It went straight through her throat.

The fight broke out again.

It was dirtier than before, spells were flying through the air and Sam and Dean were firing almost blindly, wishing to stop the witches but needing to avoid their spells. They had ducked behind a desk, trying their best not to get hit. But the spells were strong and soon the desk was aflame and could no longer provide protection. Running from cover to cover Sam and Dean were determined not to lose to the witches.

The nervous witch who had provided the information to Sam and Dean was killed in the fight, but not by Sam, Dean or Castiel, but by another witch whose spell had went awry. The horror in the witches face at her fallen brethren gave Castiel, who had been silently approaching her from behind, the opportunity to pierce her heart with the retrieved Angel Blade. She fell to the ground. Everyone in the room watched her fall with an odd fascination.

Only two witches were left alive. It was two against three.

The two survivors were Frances Harris and another woman who had a desperate look in her eyes. She looked like she was willing to use her bare hands to escape if she needed to.

The witches and the Winchesters were breathing heavily. Dean had taken a spell to the arm which had caused a severe burn. He had to switch his gun to his left hand. That lowered his accuracy a little but the witches were in worse shape. The look in the witch’s eyes told the Winchesters that this was going to be a fight to the death.

No one moved for just a second, the eye of the storm. Then Frances pulled out a gun, aiming towards Castiel a crazed look in her eye. She never even managed to pull the trigger. Castiel merely teleported behind her and snapped her neck.

Francis Harris fell to the ground.

The one remaining witch grabbed the gun from the ground in a desperate attempt to continue where Frances had left off but Dean was quicker. He fired one shot. It pierced straight into her heart.

The gun fell to the floor. The witch fell beside it.

Exhausted, the team took in the scene before them. They had gotten all the information they could and they had gotten their criminals too, but it was hard to feel relieved when they were unable to forget that witches were still human and that the blood pooling onto the ground was all too real.

The killing had been stopped but only at the expense of more human lives.

The team quietly made their way home.


	22. Chapter 22

Upon returning to the motel the men found Mariangela standing in the same place she had been when they had left earlier in the evening. Had she even moved at all in the time that they were away?

When the brothers had thrown off their jackets and collapsed exhaustedly onto the cheap motel couch Mariangela approached them. She observed their injuries, mostly small cuts and bruises. She seemed to disregard them, none of those injuries required urgent medical treatment so they did not concern her. When Mariangela finally noticed the burn mark on Dean’s arm she looked at him with worry in her eyes.

She looked at Castiel. She wanted an explanation. She wanted to know what had caused those injuries.

Castiel gave Mariangela a brief summary of what had happened at the warehouse. He told her what had happened with the coven and how Dean had been injured by a spell which had merely grazed his shoulder. It was not a serious injury, no cause for concern.

The idea that the Winchesters had seemed to piss off a group of demons to the point that the demons would put a bounty on their heads did not seem overly surprising to Mariangela.

Then again the Winchesters did seem to have a knack at getting themselves into a lot of trouble.

Speaking of trouble, it would be stupid for Sam and Dean to assume that the witches they had just fought were the only coven who had heard the message from the demons and would be sufficiently motivated by money.

On the ride back to the motel they had decided go back to Bobby’s for help. They couldn’t do this alone anymore.

Every coven in the country could be after them.

Yippee.

The brothers and the angels left the motel immediately after Sam had applied some burn salve to Dean’s arm. Sam was relieved to note that the burn merely grazed the skin. The spell had not been a direct hit. The shiny burn looked few worse than it really was.

Despite his injured arm Dean had insisted on driving the entire way back to Bobby’s allowing his younger brother to get some rest during the journey. Sam had protested before getting into the car, it would take hours to drive to Bobby's but exhaustion soon caught up, Sam slept for the majority of the drive.

When the brothers and the angels arrived at Bobby’s early the next morning they were met by one angry and still slightly groggy Bobby.

 ‘You boys just can’t leave things alone, can you?’ Bobby said. ‘I told you boys, I’ll find the carnival and get a group of hunters together and we’ll gank those sons of bitches.’

‘No Bobby, we’re not here to try and track down the carnival,’ Sam said earnestly. ‘We’re here to try and get this damn hit call off us. This bounty on our head is making things too dangerous. Not just for us, but for innocent people getting caught up in the crossfire.’

Bobby glared a little, but Sam was telling the truth, Bobby could tell. He sighed and walked inside.

Once in the house Bobby and the brothers tried to decide on a plan of action. They knew that it was the carnival who had called the hit and they knew that they had been targeted by witches. The witches were most likely chosen as they were more likely to be easily persuaded by money, but that didn’t mean that other supernatural creatures didn’t need the money too.

With the bounty still hanging over their heads it would only be a matter of time before someone or something else tried to gank them.

‘Well,’ said Bobby slowly, ‘My research so far seems to point to the possibility that it is a rather low level demon group after you. They didn’t seem to know who you boys were. They probably just assumed you were run of the mill hunters. Most demons would think twice about putting a bounty out on the Winchester brothers.’

‘The witches didn’t know that we were the correct targets either,’ said Sam with a sudden realisation. ‘If they had they known that they we were the correct target they would have targeted Cass too. But they only left two Hex Bags in the hotel. So it was just dumb luck that they managed to find us.’

Dean nodded. He had forgotten that the demons had fought Castiel too. He glanced quickly at the dishevelled angel standing at the other side of Bobby’s living room-cum-office. 

Castiel did not seem overly perturbed that he was being hunted down by demons.

It was just another day at the office for the angel it seemed.

‘These demons are in over their heads,’ said Bobby. ‘They don’t seem to realise that they’ve called a hit on two of the most notorious hunters in the US and an angel of the lord.’

‘You flatter us, Bobby,’ Dean said jokingly, dodging the smack that Bobby aimed towards the back of his head.

Dean sighed.

‘You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?’ Dean said, looking to Bobby. ‘Like it or not Bobby, the witches are still going to be on our tail. The only way this will end is when the Demon Carnival is found and brought down once and for all.’

‘No Dean,’ Bobby said sharply. ‘The ol’ guns blazing approach ain’t gonna to cut it here. I’ve managed to track down twenty hunters who are willing enough, strong enough or just plain dumb enough to help take down the carnival.’

Sam was surprised at the number. He’d never heard of such a large group of hunters working together.

‘Turns out that the carnival had been around for years trying to hunt down an angel for its needs, however it seems Mariangela is the first one they found.’ Bobby explained. ‘Not only do they want angels, they also want humans to possess. They’re lying low at the moment, but they can’t. If you killed as many of them as you said you did then they’re going to need vessels to replenish their numbers. Once they start abducting people again they’ll be tracked down and stopped.’

 Sam and Dean had an immediate objection to this. They couldn’t just sit around and wait until people were kidnapped. It wasn’t right letting people die, just to track down the Carnival.

Bobby could predict the brother’s reaction even before they even opened their mouths to protest.

‘Listen, I don’t like it as much as you do and if there was any other way, I’d do it. But there ain’t.’

The regret on his face was genuine. No hunter liked to see human lives being taken in such a way.

Dean looked to Castiel to see if there was any other way.

Castiel shook his head slowly. He could not think of any other way to track the carnival, it was too well concealed. Castiel looked to Mariangela, hoping that perhaps there was some Seraph wisdom which could find the Carnival, but Mariangela shook her head too.

There really was no other way.

The Winchester’s didn’t like it but they had no other choice.

Bobby looked at the brothers in front of him and the two angels who stood closely together at the wall.

His eyes softened and he said, ‘All you guys need to do is stay safe and stay alive until the Carnival is taken care of.’

‘That’s easily done, Bobby,’ said Dean.

Bobby snorted.

Like hell.


	23. Chapter 23

The team spent the next few days at Bobby’s trying to search for a new case to keep them occupied.

Castiel, rather unusually, had decided to remain at Bobby’s house rather than popping back to heaven as the brothers and Bobby suspected he usually did when not required.

Whilst Castiel had given no reason as to why he stayed, it did not take a rocket scientist to realise that it was down to a certain fallen angel.

The fallen angel in question was currently being bombarded with questions from Bobby. He was trying to get a better idea of what they were going to face at the Demon Carnival.

Mariangela did not know much. After all, she had spent the majority of her time at the carnival bound to a pole and surrounded by holy fire. But she tried to convey all she could to Bobby with the assistance of Castiel, who seemed to have become her impromptu translator.

Given a sheet of paper and a pen, Mariangela had drawn a number of sigils. They were the sigils which had covered the ‘Staff Only’ tent.

‘These are complex anti-angelic wards,’ observed Castiel. ‘They are signs which could only be learnt from angels. A demon could not have known this.’

Their previous theory that Mariangela was the first angel the demons had captured was bust.

Crap.

‘How many demons are there in the carnival?’ asked Bobby,

Mariangela signed something to Castiel.

‘Over one hundred demons,’ he translated.

Castiel then added, ‘With that large a number they must be fairly low level demons. Powerful demons and crossroad demons mostly work alone.’

Bobby nodded. He had been thinking the same thing.

‘What do the demons do?’ asked Bobby.

Mariangela gestured to Castiel some more.

‘There were several demons whose only job was to torture her. Those demons she blinded with her True Form,’ said Castiel. ‘They will be the demons looking for new vessels now that theirs have been damaged. She suspects that the demons in charge of torture are of a higher standing than the average demon foot soldiers.’

‘Are they in charge?’ asked Bobby. He was directing the questions to Mariangela, then looking to Castiel to translate.

Mariangela shook her head and began to gesture again.

‘She seems to suspect that there is a leader, but she never met him,’ replied Castiel.

Bobby hit Mariangela with a few more questions, eager to learn as much as he could, but she was unable to answer them. She looked to Castiel for assistance.

‘Perhaps we should give Mariangela a while to think of anything else that may be of value. You should give her a break Bobby. She did save Sam and Dean’s life.’ Castiel said.

Bobby looked confused.  But he was quickly filled in with the events of a few days ago by Castiel.

Bobby expressed his thanks and Mariangela nodded her head.

She did not think that it was that big of a deal, after all, the brothers had done just the same for her.


	24. Chapter 24

The next few days came and went and the Winchesters had still failed to find a case. Their bruises were fading from their and they were feeling better with a little rest but it was frustrating having nothing to work on.

With the break in cases, the brothers had dedicated their time to matters a little closer to home; observing the angels. Sam and Dean could not help but share knowing smirks with each other every time they saw Castiel, who was mysteriously still around.

Oblivious to the brother’s smirking Castiel had begun to use the lull in activity as an excuse to help Mariangela re-learn her teleportation skills.

Since Mariangela had lost a pair of her wings teleportation was a lot more difficult than it was previously. Since being rescued from the Carnival, Mariangela had not attempted to teleport but Castiel was confident that her health had improved enough that she was fit enough to at least try.

‘Teleporting with only two sets of wings requires more precision,’ Castiel said to Mariangela.

They were standing outside in Bobby’s scrap yard. Since the margin of error was expected to be high, Castiel did not want Mariangela to accidentally teleport somewhere and injure herself. At least in the scrap yard there were large empty spaces in among the old cars and trucks.

‘You must concentrate,’ said Castiel.

Mariangela nodded, she had known it was not going to be easy.

For a first attempt Castiel asked Mariangela to teleport herself to a target placed one hundred metres in front of her. With a can of spray paint Castiel had marked her target zone.

X marks the spot.

Easy.

Not quite.

There were a few false starts, attempts where Mariangela stood staring intently at the target with a single-minded focus only to move nowhere. There were a few attempts where the fluttering of wings insinuated flight, but no movement occurred.

‘Concentrate,’ Castiel urged. ‘But be relaxed, this should feel natural.’

Mariangela closed her eyes and took a deep breath, allowing tension to release from her shoulders.

She vanished.

Finally Mariangela had teleported successfully.

But she had missed her target spectacularly. She was nowhere to be found.

Castiel searched the scrapyard thoroughly.

Mariangela was not there.

He then attempted to feel an angelic presence in the area.

Again, there was nothing.

Castiel, a little panicked that he had pushed Mariangela too hard for her first attempt, flung wide his power to try and sense her presence. He didn’t care that the earth was beginning to tremble or that the lights in Bobby’s house were flashing like a warning signal. He focussed all this energy in trying to find Mariangela.

It took a moment, but finally Castiel felt her presence.

She was safe but far away.

‘What the hell, Cass?’ shouted a voice.

Castiel turned to look at Bobby’s house. Dean was standing on the porch, holding the doorframe as the earth around him shook. Castiel contained his power once again and the movement stopped.

‘We were working on teleporting,’ Castiel explained. ‘But Mariangela did not arrive at her intended destination.’

‘Well then where the hell is she?’ Dean asked. The other angel was nowhere in sight.

‘She is somewhere near Johnsonville.’

‘That’s quite a big miss, buddy. I assume she was aiming for that X.’

Castiel nodded.

Dean sighed.

‘I’ll get my car,’ he said.

Mariangela had ended up teleporting over seventy miles away. Dean and Castiel had to drive for over an hour just to find her and take her home.

Mariangela’s second attempt was just as unsuccessful, ending exactly the same way. Only this time Dean and Castiel knew where to find her.

Once they had returned to Bobby’s, Castiel sighed and held out his hand to Mariangela.

‘You shall teleport and I shall focus on the destination,’ he said.

At least that way Castiel could teleport them back if Mariangela messed up again.

Mariangela took Castiel’s hand and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes Mariangela found that she had managed to teleport onto the spray painted X, with Castiel’s assistance of course.

Holding hands with Castiel had seemed to focus Mariangela’s skills. Her attempts became more successful and soon she could teleport herself easily. But she still could not control her destination.

‘Perhaps we should leave it for the night,’ offered Castiel. ‘I always find it much easier to teleport in daylight.’

Mariangela nodded and they returned to the house for the night.

The next morning Castiel was standing in the kitchen with Bobby and the brothers. He was watching them preparing coffee with mild interest, as if observing some quaint custom or some foreign culture to which he was thoroughly unaccustomed.

Mariangela walked into the kitchen from the scrapyard. She had been practicing teleporting outside from the crack of dawn but there had been no rustling of wings to alert her presence. The men could safely presume no progress had been made with her angel GPS.

And she seemed to be getting a little frustrated.

Then again angels weren’t exactly famous for their patience.

Mariangela made her way over to Castiel who was standing in the corner and grabbed his hand pulling him out of the room into the scrapyard. She needed his help to navigate.

Dean laughed, ‘I love it when a woman takes charge,’ he joked, but Castiel did not hear him.

Day had turned to night and Mariangela finally seemed to be improving. She was now able to transport to within ten metres of where she intended to be.

Ignoring Castiel’s suggestion of heading in for the evening Mariangela practiced throughout the night. After all she no longer required sleep.

Castiel decided to return in for the evening. Bobby and the brothers were researching. Perhaps they would need his help.

When morning came Mariangela could once again teleport accurately.

Bobby was preparing his morning coffee, the same as he had been doing the previous morning, when Mariangela burst into the kitchen. She repeated her actions of the day before, grabbing Castiel from his customary spot in the corner and dragging him outside.

Once outside Mariangela gestured to Castiel. Over the past few days they had begun developing a sort of angelic sign language allowing them to communicate more easily.

Castiel could understand easily what she wished to say. She wanted to teleport with another person but she had remembered his rule about not teleporting a human without their permission. She needed a willing volunteer.

‘Of course you may practice with me,’ Castiel said, pleased that she had asked him.

She and Castiel held hands. This time Castiel did not control the destination.

It did not take long for Mariangela to be able to teleport once again with another person.

Mariangela could not control her smile; she was overjoyed at regaining her strength. She placed a hand affectionately on Castiel’s shoulder mimicking the gesture Bobby often used with the Winchesters.

Mariangela removed her hand, finding the gesture didn’t convey enough and hugged Castiel gently.

It didn’t feel awkward as hugs oft did with her Cherubim brethren, who tended to squeeze tightly and lift you in the air. This hug was softer and more meaningful.

Mariangela would forever have to convey her thoughts through her body since her voice was taken from her but she did not mind in this moment.

In this hug Mariangela wished to convey her thanks to Castiel who had, not only helped her through training her wings once again, but had been a pillar to her throughout a most dark time.

She smiled when Castiel tentatively returned the hug.

They remained comfortably in each other’s arms for a long time, content in the knowledge that, for a while at least, they were not just an angel, entirely alone in the world of humans.

When they parted, the angels smiled slightly.

This was the first time Mariangela had ever seen Castiel smile.

Castiel had enjoyed the hug. Angels, bar the Archangel Gabriel and cherubim, were not overly known for their joviality. It was a nice change.

In their own little world the angels didn’t notice Dean looking through the window, out to the old scrapyard and snorting loudly. He was loath to break up Hug-Fest but they’d found a case and needed to be on the move soon.

Thankfully, by the time Dean had drained the last of his morning coffee and left the house, the angels had already separated. But Dean wouldn’t have been Dean if he didn’t clear his throat loudly and raise a knowing eyebrow at Castiel, who shot it down with a resting bitch face.

‘Hey angels, we’ve found a new case,’ Dean said.


	25. Chapter 25

The new case Dean had told Mariangela and Castiel about wasn’t actually connected to the Demon Carnival case but with all other hunters in the area currently occupied with searching for the Carnival someone needed to take it on.

With Bobby trying to keep Sam and Dean out of the equation, they were unceremoniously volunteered to take the case.  

There had been a spate of murders in Rapid City.

All of the victims were new couples out on their first date together.

Some were murdered during their first date, others died the day after.

The weird thing was, each couple were recorded as having exactly the same time of death.

The cause however was still unknown.

So far three couples had been reported dead but Bobby was worried that that number would continue. It usually did.

Sam and Dean decided the best thing to do was to leave Bobby’s quickly so that they had a chance to examine some of the bodies before they were buried.

Mariangela and Castiel, although now were both perfectly able to teleport, decided to ride with the brothers.

The journey was quick but companionable. With Dean’s questionable driving they made it in less than three hours. Mariangela seemed slightly terrified at Dean’s ‘The Speed Limit Is Just A Suggestion’ approach to driving.

She spent the entire journey sitting ramrod straight, eyes wide.

Upon arrival Sam and Dean found that the motel they had planned on checking into was unexpectedly full.

The bored woman at the counter explained that there was a huge meeting for people on a dating site to meet face to face in the conference centre across the street.

Or at least that’s what Sam thought she had said. The gum in her mouth that she was chewing loudly made it hard to tell.

Disinterested, Dean cursed his luck, but the problem was easily solved and they soon checked in to a nearby hotel.

Mariangela and Castiel stayed in the car as the brothers booked a room with two beds, as the only two in the group actually required sleep.

Once checked in, Dean gave Castiel a call and told him the room number. Without thinking Mariangela and Castiel held hands to teleport into the hotel room.

Sam concealed a smirk when he saw them.

‘Here’s the plan,’ said Dean, not noting the angels, not Sam’s amusement. ‘Sammy and I will go to the morgue and examine the bodies before they are released for burial. You two go check the crime scenes. See if there is anything that the police reports have missed.’

Time is of the essence, the bodies would soon be released for burial and the crime scenes would soon be re-opened. Both teams went their separate ways with no time to spend unwisely.

Once they arrived at the first crime scene Castiel and Mariangela wasted no time getting to work.

It was an Ice-Cream Parlour. Couple Number One, as Dean had so creatively referred to the first couple, had died in the window booth, in the middle of their first date. Two women in their mid-twenties did not simply die unexpectedly and for no reason. Castiel and Mariangela checked for traces of foul play.

There were no hex bags this time, nor were there any traces of sulphur.

Most importantly, there did not seem to be any trace of a struggle.

Two seemingly healthy young women just happened to both die on their first date, in the same place and at exactly the same time.

The parlour had been closed for the time being as the city’s health inspectors checked all food and utensils for poisons or contaminants. It would soon be re-opened. But the angels did not need to see the health inspector’s results to know that poisons or contaminants were not the case.

Castiel looked up towards the ceiling in an attempt to find where the security camera was located. He cursed his luck. The camera was placed just above the window, meaning that the couple’s booth was in a blind spot and the camera could not have captured the couple’s death.

Was that intentional or was it a coincidence?

Mariangela looked outside and pointed at something which looked like the camera just above the window. It was the street camera. It was in a better position. It directly overlooked the Ice-Cream Parlour. Perhaps it had managed to capture something that the parlour’s camera had missed. Castiel disappeared momentarily and then re-appeared holding a disc in his hand.

‘This is a disc which contains whatever was recorded on that camera outside the shop.’ Castiel explained. ‘Sam can look at it when we return.’

Castiel placed the small disc in his pocket but Mariangela looked a little confused, she pointed at his pocket. Castiel understood, ‘Sam can see the recording by using his laptop.’

Mariangela recalled Sam’s laptop, the strange omniscient contraption which seemed to hold a wealth of information. She did not find it surprising that it could also read ‘discs’.

Whilst Sam had explained the complexities of the laptop to Mariangela once before, she nor her vessel, had any previous knowledge about it.

Mariangela was fairly sure that the laptop was some sort of oracle and therefore she did not attempt to question it further.

Castiel pulled Mariangela out of her thoughts. ‘I see nothing further to examine,’ he said. ‘I propose that we move along to the next crime scene.’

Mariangela began to nod but she suddenly froze mid-gesture. She became as still as a statue, then tiled her head as if a little confused, a gesture she had no doubt adopted from Castiel.

She had sensed something.

She began examining the walls of the parlour looking closely for something. She finally found what she was looking for, not on the walls, but on the floor beside the table where the two women died.

It was a small circular hole on the floor; it couldn’t have been more than a few millimetres in diameter.

Castiel looked at it. It was curious, but he didn’t know what it was.

But Mariangela did.

Castiel looked at Mariangela who tried to tell him what it was; what it meant. She mimicked firing a bow with an arrow but Castiel didn’t understand.

‘You think that a bowman did this?’ Castiel asked, confused.

 Mariangela shook her head and repeated the gesture.

Castiel still didn’t understand.

Mariangela repeated the gesture a few more times but Castiel was getting no closer. Mariangela stood up off the floor where she had been crouching and stood beside Castiel.

Once again she mimicked firing a bow and arrow but she then followed it with a bone-crushing hug, attempting to pick Castiel up in the process. Although she was unsuccessful in picking him up she was successful in conveying what she meant.

Cupid’s arrow.

‘Mariangela, do you think a cherub did this?’ Castiel asked.

Mariangela looked entirely taken aback that Castiel could even entertain such a notion. Her face conveyed the offence she felt. She shook her head vehemently, brows furrowed.

Cherubim and Seraphim were like brothers and sisters in heaven, just as the warriors and archangels were like a family, albeit a dysfunctional one. Mariangela could not imagine one of her brothers doing such a thing. Even the very thought upset her.

 ‘I have upset you. That was not my intention. I apologise,’ said Castiel earnestly.

 Mariangela nodded, she knew he hadn’t meant to offend her.

It had been a valid point to make. The hole in the floor marked the presence of a cherub at work. Nonetheless it now meant they had something to work with. They should observe the other crime scenes to see if they had similar clues.

Unlike Couple Number One, the other two couples had died separately from each other.

Couple Number Two, a fifty-something divorcee and a widow in her late forties were the next victims. They had been on a date to a fancy restaurant, but that is not where they died.

The man died in his office when he was working late, the woman dropped dead whilst shopping in her local superstore.

The angels examined both scenes. There was no trace of supernatural activity bar a small hole, the size perhaps of an arrow, found near both victims.

The last couple, Couple Number Three, were two teenagers out to see a movie. They were the last victims to died.

Both died whilst in classes, but both in different classrooms and in different schools.

There was still no sign of supernatural activity bar the suspected arrow holes.

Confused by the turn of events the angels returned to the hotel room awaiting the return of the brothers. Perhaps their trip to the morgue could shed some light on this confusing situation.


	26. Chapter 26

Sam and Dean returned from the morgue just as confused as the angels had been.

All six victims had been perfectly healthy. There was no real reason why they should have died.

Couple Number One, from the ice-cream parlour both were confirmed to have died of poisoning, but not from ice-cream.

The pathologist had found traces of cyanide in both victims’ stomachs.

The pathologist for the Couple Number Two said the same, and whilst the results were hadn’t yet arrived for the Couple Number Three, Sam and Dean could guess the results.

But something was throwing them off.

When looking through the autopsy report Sam had noticed a note about a small mark on the heart. When he and his brother received (dubious) permission to examine the bodies of Couple Number One, without the presence of the morgue attendant, they found that both Victim One and Victim Two’s hearts were mysteriously darkened in a small area.

‘We’ve seen something like this before. It’s familiar,’ Sam recalled. ‘Hearts mysteriously darkened, almost as if they’ve been burned. Or as if they have been branded with an Enochian symbol.’

The brothers had seen such a thing before.

Cupid’s mark.

When Sam and Dean made their way back to the hotel they shared their information with Castiel and Mariangela hoping that the angels would shed some light on the case. Like it or not, it was looking increasingly likely that it was a Cherub behind the attacks.

Sam was hesitant to believe so, especially after remembering what it was like the last time they met a Cherub. He had been so friendly and innocent.

But the evidence was compelling.  

The brother’s theory was only confirmed more so when Castiel reported back what he and Mariangela had found.

Sam and Dean sighed and opened a well-deserved beer each. 

Castiel suddenly remembered the security tape he had stolen.

He gave the disc to Sam who set it beside his laptop. He would watch it in the morning, his laptop had no power.

‘Now we know Cupid’s behind the attacks we should spend our time wisely,’ said Dean, taking a sip of his beer. ‘We should try to figure out why he would want to do such a thing and how to stop him if necessary.’

Despite the overwhelming evidence neither angel looked particularly convinced of the cherub’s guilt but there wasn’t anything they could do, after all ‘they just don’t do that sort of thing’ wasn’t compelling enough to make Sam and Dean believe the cherub was innocent.

Mariangela looked upset at the suspicion of her brethren but with all evidence pointing towards a Cherub she found didn’t have much of a choice but to follow the evidence.

Yet neither Angel nor either Winchester could figure out why the victims in the ice-cream parlour had traces of cyanide in their stomachs. Just another mystery to add on top of the pile they already had.

‘We need to talk to the cherub,’ Sam decided.

Dean looked reluctant, ‘I don’t know Sammy, remember last time? That was one touchy feely angel. I’m in no hurry to experience that again. Surely we can hold off a little longer?’

‘I agree man, they’re way too into invasion of personal space but it’s unavoidable. Even if a cherub wasn’t behind the murders, one is definitely involved somehow. Perhaps they’ll know something.’

‘Yeah, you’re right. But please, let’s leave the summoning until the morning. I want to be able to sleep without nightmares of angelic molestation.’

Sam snorted, ‘Fine, so we spent tonight researching Cherubim and try and figure out why the angels of love would want to harm a human’.

Sam turned to Mariangela, ‘Do you know of any reason a Cherub would start murdering people?’

Mariangela looked contemplative. She couldn’t think of a reason at first but after some contemplation she signed a little. Castiel was there to aid in the translation.

Mariangela thought that, perhaps, a cherub pairs two people thinking they would be a perfect match and that they would find love in each other, living happily ever after.

A cherub might be so sure of the love that he even places his brand on the couple’s heart so they are bound together.

Then, maybe, just maybe, the cherub realises that the match wasn’t as idyll as he had anticipated.

They might be in love but it isn’t making them happy. It’s all well and good to love someone, but if they aren’t right for you then the cherub had failed his mission. He might be so ashamed with what he has done that he tries to undo his mistakes.

And he kills his failed couples.

Sam nodded, that was a plausible theory and it made sense. It was the best theory they had so far, but it failed to explain the cyanide in the first couple’s body.

Sam’s phone rang interrupting the contemplative silence that had filled the hotel room. It was one of the pathologists from earlier.

‘I apologise for the late hour Dr Cooke,’ said the pathologist,

‘Its fine I’m working late in the office tonight anyway,’ Sam lied easily.

‘Oh, that’s a relief. I have some results here, the young couple you had enquired about earlier. The young woman also had traces of cyanide in her stomach and whilst results have still not come in for the young man it’s most likely it will be present in his stomach too. All three groups of victims died the same way, Cyanide Poisoning.’

‘Thank you Doctor. It is just as I had suspected.’

Sam ended the call and told Dean what the Pathologist had said.

All six victims had the same cause of death, Cyanide poisoning.

‘Hey, Mariangela, say you were a Cherub and you’d messed up on the romance big-time and you want to kill the couple, how would you do it?’ asked Dean, turning to face her.

Mariangela held a hand over Castiel’s chest and mimed tearing his heart out. She placed her thumb over where she held Castiel’s imaginary heart.

‘She is pretending to burn off the Enochian sigil she would have placed on their heart. Removing the sigil is a sign of shame.’ Castiel explained.

 ‘Well then Cupid certainly doesn’t poison his victims with cyanide,’ Dean said, exasperation in his voice.

Sam cursed their luck, bang goes their theory of a crazy-ass cupid.

But at least the burn marks on the heart had been explained.

The group continued research for a little longer without yielding any results. When research failed to enlighten the brothers they decided to go to bed.

Castiel and Mariangela carried on with the research for the rest of the night.


	27. Chapter 27

When morning arrived the team still had not made much progress.

Castiel and Mariangela had found a few plausible causes, a vengeful spirit, a witch’s curse, perhaps a pagan god who demanded a sacrifice but before they pursued any new leads Sam was adamant that they must confirm that it was definitely not a cherub behind the murders.

Sam and Dean began to plan summoning the Cherub, gathering books and ingredients, but Castiel had some advice.

‘The most effective way to find a cherub is to go to somewhere where there is a chance for romance and summon him there. Let him come to you,’ Castiel said.

‘What if we summon the wrong one?’ asked Sam. He could barely deal with one Cherub. He didn’t want to have to sort through hundreds of them.

‘Cherubim work large areas alone. If you summon a Cherub then the nearest one will be summoned. The closest one will be the right one.’

Castiel sounded sure, so Sam was inclined to believe him.

‘Well where are we going to find some romance? All the bars are closed at this time, it’s only the morning,’ said Dean. ‘I sure as hell can’t think of anywhere else to pick up chicks.’

A moments silence reigned.

Then Dean remembered something.

‘Hey Sammy, remember what that chick at the motel said when we tried to check in?’ he said.

‘That the motel was full because of some meeting for an internet dating site? Oh, that’s smart. It seems like the most likely place the Cherub would visit. It’s was worth a shot.’

Dean looked smug.

A quick phone call to the conference centre confirmed that today was indeed the day of the meeting. It didn’t take long for the angels and the brothers to make their way to the conference centre.

The conference centre was busy, filled with bustling people and happy conversation. Unwilling to attract too much attention Sam and Dean had put on boiler suits and claimed an abandoned mop and bucket. Once disguised as janitors they snuck in.

Castiel and Mariangela did not seem to understand the concept of disguises. They remained in their normal clothes looking at the brothers in mild confusion. Sam and Dean exchanged a long-suffering look. It was much easier to allow the angels to remain confused than to convince them to put on a disguise.

The team stood idly for a little while, trying to find any signs that Cupid may be near. The room was busy, filled with men and women exchanging pleasant conversations with one another, but nothing seemed to be standing out.

A couple on the far side of the room laughed loud enough to attract attention. They moved a little closer to each other, shared a smile and continued talking.

The seemingly innocuous action seemed like a sign to Castiel. He disappeared. Mariangela grabbed the brothers and transported them to where Castiel had moved to.

When they appeared Castiel had already begun the incantation to make Cherub visible.

Mariangela looked towards Castiel. She was worried about what he would say when he realised she had transported Sam and Dean without their permission. Luckily for her, Castiel had more important things to be dealing with.

‘Well, hi there!’ greeted the Cherub, seeming unperturbed at being suddenly and forcibly summoned by Castiel.

The Cherub giggled, greeting Castiel with a bone-crushing hug. Castiel froze and looked awkward. The Cherub put him down and moved to the brothers who, even though they tried to refuse, could not avoid the lifting and hugging of the cheery Cherub. But as he turned to greet the last person in the room the Cherub stopped in his tracks.

He recognised Mariangela almost immediately.

The Cherub sprinted over and crushed her with the force of the hug. He wasn’t giggling anymore. Instead he held her silently and tightly.

It was only now that Dean and Sam really understood what the angels meant when they referred to their kind as brothers and sisters. Dean had held Sam that very same way when he was relieved he was safe. It was a familiar gesture, oddly human from the angel.

The cherub was still holding Mariangela, stroking her hair and softly murmuring how good it was to see her. Mariangela was returning the sentiment by holding the cherub just as tightly.

Dean and Sam suddenly felt a little guilty about accusing him of killing those people in front of Mariangela. Nevertheless they still needed to ask him if he knew who did.

‘Hey. Um, we need to ask you a few questions if that’s alright?’ asked Sam awkwardly.

The Cherub stepped back from the hug but he didn’t seem to hear Sam.

He sighed when he looked Mariangela and murmured, ‘Oh, Seraph, what did they do to you?’

Mariangela looks sadly at the Cherub but she turned her head to Castiel so he could translate for her.

Castiel stepped forward to Mariangela’s side, ‘She stood against Raphael and she lost her voice for it,’ he explained.

The Cherub nodded, ‘Unfortunately I am not unfamiliar with what happens to angels who do not side with Raphael. We have lost so many of our brothers and sisters to his barbaric ideologies. His wrath is strong and the Cherubim and Seraphim who stand against him do not fight back. Even if they did, they would not stand a chance.’

Mariangela looked towards the Winchesters who were standing in the background. She waved a hand to bring them forward. It was time for the Cherub to listen.

Dean still looked vaguely disgruntled at the touchy-feely angel but he stepped forward nevertheless and getting straight to work.

Dean handed the pictures they had of the victims to the Cherub in a random order.

‘Do you know these people?’ Sam asked.

The Cherub smiled, ‘Why, of course I do!’

The Cherub paired the photos into the couples and smiled fondly, ‘These are all people who I have paired together,’ he said. ‘I’m very happy about them, it’s some of my finest work, if I do say so myself. I’m excited to see the weddings!’

‘I’m very sorry but they’ve been murdered, we’re trying to find out who or what killed them’ Sam said gently.

Sam didn’t want to upset the angel but despite the kind delivery the Cherub began to cry. He hugged Mariangela for support, sobbing into her neck loudly. Castiel awkwardly patted him on the shoulder as comfort.

After some time the Cherub regained some control and sniffed loudly, wiping his nose on Castiel’s trench coat, much to Castiel’s horror.

He moved from Mariangela’s side to look her directly in the eye.

 ‘Who could do such a thing?’ the Cherub asked her.

Mariangela shook her head mournfully. She didn’t know.

‘Please, you have to find whoever did this,’ the Cherub said.

Mariangela nodded firmly and looked at Castiel who nodded too.

‘Whoever the perpetrator is they will be caught,’ Castiel said assuredly.

Sam carefully decided to continue asking questions. Dean was in the background avoiding the Cherub, he figured he was just far enough away that the Cherub wouldn’t try to hug him.

 ‘Can think or anyone or anything that would do something like this?’ Sam asked.

 After some contemplation the Cherub shook his head.

‘I don’t know why someone or something would do such a horrible thing. It’s terrible!’ the Cherub’s voice cracked, threatening to cry once again but he gained control.

Left with nothing more to ask the brothers and the angels decided it was time to leave. But before they left the Cherub turned from Mariangela to the three men before him, his face was serious.

‘I want you to look after her.’ He said simply.

 They all nodded.

The Cherub looked at Castiel, ‘Care for her,’ he said.  With that he was gone.

Castiel had hoped the Cherub had heard him answer softly but assuredly, ‘I will.’

Sam and Dean sighed. With the Cherub now officially off the hook the brothers were now back to square one. With no leads to follow up they left the conference centre and called into a small bar for lunch. All four walked into the bar and while the brothers ate, the case was discussed.

‘Well, now that Cupid is out of the equation we should focus on the cyanide,’ said Dean with a mouthful of bacon. ‘You know, where it came from, how it got there, maybe it can shed some light on this case.’

Sam nodded in agreement as he took a sip of his coffee.

After lunch they would go back to the hotel for more research.

God, Dean was getting sick of that word.


	28. Chapter 28

Once the team had finished their lunch they returned to their hotel room.

Sam and Dean loosened their ties, threw off their jackets and got comfortable. It was going to be yet another long day of research.

Sam opened his laptop and turned it on. He picked up the security tape that Castiel had stolen from the ice-cream parlour. He had completely forgotten about it.

When his laptop was finally up and running Sam placed the disc into the drive and began to watch the footage. It was long and boring work, watching the same moment that the victims died over and over again. Rewinding it and re-watching continually in an attempt to spot something that they had missed.

Sam watched the footage until his eyes itched, looking for anything which may have provided a hint about what had happened.

Finally after what felt like an eternity, but was perhaps more accurately hours, of watching the same few minutes of footage on loop Sam noticed something.

He clicked a button, zooming into the corner of the Ice-Cream Parlour’s window and looked again. He had definitely found something.

‘Hey Dean, get over here,’ Sam said. ‘You’re gonna want to see this.’

Dean walked over to his brother and his laptop.

‘Focus on the bottom left hand of the window,’ Sam advised.

‘I can’t see anything.’ Dean said, brow furrowing, ‘Play it again.’

Sam obliged.

This time Dean noticed something. He looked at Sam who nodded knowingly.

Dean turned his face back to the laptop, watching the video loop one final time. He watched the bottom left hand of the window slowly icing up.

This was the work of a spirit.

‘Cupid is so totally off the hook with this one,’ Dean murmured as he watched the clip.

‘Let’s figure out who this spirit could be,’ Sam said, all too eager to remove the security footage disc from his laptop, hopefully to never have to re-watch the mind-numbing footage again.

By evening the brothers and angels gained a few potential leads. The most promising of which was a young woman, Harriet Birdman, who was suspected to have committed suicide a week ago.

‘Harriet Birdman,’ Dean read aloud from an online newspaper article, ‘Pre-Law student, suspected to have killed herself after her an argument with her boyfriend.’

Sam nodded, ‘Sounds like she could be a potential lead to me’ he said. ‘Sounds to me she died heartbroken. That’s enough of a reason to come back as a vengeful spirit.’

‘Exactly,’ agreed Dean. ‘She’s madly in love with this guy but they argue, he dumps her but she can’t accept the break-up. She killed herself a week later.’

‘And now what?’ asked Sam, ‘She’s going after happy couples for revenge?’

‘Yeah, I mean it’s a possibility. But here’s the real kicker. Harriet Birdman was found with traced of cyanide in her stomach.’

‘I’d say we should take a little trip to Harriet’s boyfriend’s house in the morning. What do you think?’

‘I think that sounds like an excellent plan, Sammy,’ Dean said with a grin.


	29. Chapter 29

It was bright and early when Sam and Dean knocked on Harriet Birdman’s boyfriend’s door.

‘Joel Nab?’ Dean asked the young man who opened the door.

‘Yes, um, who are you?’ Joel asked. His voice belied his confusion.

Sam and Dean flashed their faux-badges in unison, putting them back into their jacket pockets with practiced ease.

‘We have a few questions about the death of Harriet Birdman,’ Dean said.

‘I’ve already told the cops everything I know,’ Joel said, he sounded tired.

‘Well, we just have a few follow up questions, we shouldn’t take up too much of your time Mr Nab,’ Dean said easily, brushing Joel’s protests aside.

Unsure what else to do Joel Nab stepped back from the door and allowed the two men in.

Once in the house, settled on some comfortable seats, cups of coffee in hand, Sam and Dean attempted to get all the information they needed to know. With finely honed skill they quickly found out the history between Joel and Harriet.

Harriet and Joel had been a young couple in love. With Sam’s gentle questions, the Winchester’s discovered that Joel and Harriet had been dating for two years.

For our anniversary we decided to recreate our first date,’ Joel said, staring into his coffee rather than the faux cops before him.  ‘But that was the night that everything went wrong. We had an argument. A big argument which was unusual for us, we never fought.’

‘What did you argue about?’ asked Dean, notepad in hand. He brought Joel back on track with the conversation.  

‘Oh God, it was so stupid, all just a huge misunderstanding,’ said Joel, running a hand through his hair, his tone filled with grief.

‘Hey man,’ said Sam kindly, ‘just take your time, tell us everything you can remember.’

This seemed to settle Joel a little.

‘The argument started because my parent’s business was failing,’ he said. ‘They were set to lose everything they had. They were desperate to do anything that might save their business, one of the potential investors said that they would save my parents company if they could find a suitable man for the investor’ daughter.’

Dean’s raised eyebrow showed his thoughts on the subject, apparently Joel agreed.

‘I know, it’s crazy, right? I mean, this is the twenty-first century, I can’t believe that stuff like that still happens. But my dad was desperate, he offered me up to the investor. It was clear my dad hadn’t really thought it through. My mom nearly killed him when she found out. And I wasn’t going to leave Harriet, but I decided to tell her, let her know what was happening. Let her know that we were trying to find another solution.’

Joel hesitated as if unsure whether or not to continue, the kind look in Sam’s eyes seemed to help him keep talking.

‘I told Harriet on the date and she just, I don’t know, flew off the handle. She stormed out of the restaurant, screaming that we were through. I didn’t see her after that, she wouldn’t answer my calls, or my texts, I even tried going to her house, but she wouldn’t let me in. Then a few days later her parents called. It was all over the news.’

Joel was clearly devastated but Sam and Dean couldn’t leave without asking one last thing.

‘I’m really sorry for your loss Mr Nab,’ Sam said softly, ‘but I have to ask just one last thing.’

‘Sure, ask away.’

‘Where was Harriet buried?’

Joel looked confused, ‘Harriet was cremated.’

‘Oh, thank you for your time, Mr Nab.’

The brother’s left.

‘Well that’s just great,’ Dean grumbled as he got into the Impala.

‘Yeah,’ agreed Sam. ‘It’s really all we need on top of all this. No damn body.  Now we need to find whatever object is holding Harriet’s spirit to earth.’

As Dean turned on the car and began to drive back to the hotel, their discussion on various objects Harriet could be attached to was cut short by the appearance of an angel in a trench coat in the back seat. Castiel was preceded by the customary flutter of wings, Sam turned around when he heard the noise.

‘Hey Cass, what are you doing here?’ he asked, voice filled with confusion.

‘There has been another two murders,’ said Castiel succinctly, never one for exchanging pleasantries. ‘The same M.O’s as the others. This time it was a couple who had gone on their first date after meeting at the online dating meet-up yesterday.’

‘Dammit!’ Dean swore loudly, hitting the steering wheel in frustration. ‘If we hadn’t been chasing our tails on the wrong path maybe we could have prevented this.’

‘Hey Dean, all signs pointed to it being a Cherub, this isn’t our fault.’ Sam said comfortingly. ‘Now we know that we’re after a spirit and we’re definitely on the right track. We’ll just have to take this spirit down before it strikes again.’

Dean said nothing, but his bone-crushing grip on the steering wheel loosened.

With a rustling of feathers Castiel disappeared; presumably back to the hotel room. Sam and Dean did not have that luxury just yet. A quick check on the police scanner as to the whereabouts of the new murders and the brothers made a necessary check of the crime scene.

It was identical to the scenes described by the angels who had visited the previous crime scenes. There was nothing unusual, nothing of note, nothing at all, except the small hole near the bodies. The ever present mark of Cupid’s arrow. This was definitely the work of the same spirit.

Sam and Dean had to find the object that was connected to the spirit and quickly.

When they returned to the hotel room Sam and Dean expressed their concern to the angels.

‘We have to catch this spirit before it comes and kills again,’ said Sam.

‘And there is no way to prevent it from happening because there’s no way to just stop everyone in the town from having first dates,’ Dean added grumpily.

The remainder of the day was spent trying to find any potential objects which may have been causing Harriet to remain as a spirit but with very little success. Exhausted from work the brothers decide to take a break and go get some food.

‘Castiel and Mariangela should come with us, they’ve been stuck in the hotel all day,’ said Sam sympathetically, looking to the angels before they left.

‘Come on man, they’re angels, not dogs. We don’t need to take them out for walkies,’ groused Dean.

Despite Dean’s complaints he invited the angels to join them anyway.


	30. Chapter 30

Just across the street from the hotel there was a little Italian restaurant. Dean had been dying for some pizza and so the team decided to eat there. It was a welcome change from convenience stores, take-aways and diners.

‘I’ll have an extra-large pizza, with everything on it,’ Dean said to the server, with an easy smile.

‘And could I get a chicken salad please?’ Sam asked, the server nodded and scribbled down his order.

She turned to face the angels, Mariangela shook her head and Castiel said, ‘We shall not be ordering anything.’

The server smiled, ‘Okay, your food will be with you shortly.’

It was late and the restaurant wasn’t busy. Only two other tables were taken and there woman who had taken their order appeared to be the only server. Only the brothers, the angels, a loud family of eight and a couple were in the dining area as the server had left to the kitchen. The other two groups in the restaurant were on the opposite side of the room. Despite this the family of eight’s loud conversation could be heard throughout the room, their rambunctious laughter seems to reverb against the walls.

Thankfully the rowdy family were finishing up their desert and soon left. It gave the brothers a chance to talk at a more reasonable volume.

The server returned surprisingly quickly with a giant pizza in one hand and a salad in the other, a perk of the lack of customers. She placed both plates down gently on the table and said, ‘You boys enjoy your meal!’

Dean intended to do so fully, stuffing a full piece of pizza into his mouth whole, ignoring Sam’s disgusted expression. As the brothers ate and joked they got a welcome break from the case. It was a brief moment of contentment, something the brothers were not accustomed to.

Dean ate his last slice of pizza and sighed, loosening a notch of his belt. He raised a hand to summon the server and ordered two beers whilst Sam shrugged off his thick jacket. It was warm in the little restaurant.

The server returned promptly with two cold beers. Dean took one Sam took another, both taking a sip and sighing appreciatively. That really hit the spot. As they casually sipped at their beer their idle conversation continued. It was mundane but enjoyable.

Castiel bought a beer and joined in a little in the conversation too, Mariangela contentedly listening.

‘Hey Mariangela, you ever try beer?’ asked Dean curiously.

Mariangela shook her head.

‘You may try some of mine,’ Castiel offered.

Mariangela took Castiel up on the offer, cautiously taking a sip of his cold beer. Her expression effectively conveyed her disgust. Her face screwed up instantly. She found it bitter and hard to drink.

Castiel looked amused at her reaction. It was an expression that suited him.

‘Hey,’ said Dean, calling over the server once again, ‘three more beers, please and a cola for the lady.’

After another cautious sip, this time of Cola, Mariangela’s reaction was a lot more positive. Or at least, the brothers assumed so. Her face didn’t screw up this time. Sam and Dean took it as a good sign.

As the server placed down the drink on her tray she looked at the angels. Castiel was observing Mariangela sipping cautiously at the cola whilst the Winchesters looked on in amusement. The server smirked knowingly at how closely the angels sat together. It was a look that both angels missed.

Dean did not miss the look however and snickered into his beer. Sometimes Dean wasn’t sure whether the two angels had grown close or they just had no sense of personal space.  Either way, he was glad that Castiel seemed to have found a companion.

The server moved to their tables and cleared it of dinner plates and empty beers before asking, ‘Are you interested in desert this evening?’

‘I’m fine thanks,’ said Sam,

‘I’ll have a slice of your best pie,’ Dean said, winking at the server who gave him a promising smouldering look in return before she turned to walk back to the kitchen.

Dean watched her walk away totally checking her out before sighing and turning to Sam saying, ‘I hate to say goodbye Sammy, but I love to watch them go.’

Sam merely snorted in response.

Sam and Dean took the first sip of their new beer in unison, when Sam set his beer back on the table he shivered. He was chilly. That was weird. It had been too warm just moments ago.

Alarm bells began to ring in Sam brain.

‘Hey Dean,’ he said worriedly,

‘Yeah?’ Dean replied.

Sam exhaled a breath which came out as condensation.

‘Son of a Bitch,’ Dean cursed.

Their gaze flew to the couple in the corner; the restaurant’s only other customers, who were now holding hands.

‘Hey, you two, is this your first date?’ Dean shouted over to the couple at the table on the other side of the room.

They smiled and nodded their heads.

Dean smiled back. ‘That’s cute,’ he replied.

His smile fell as he turned back to face Sam and the angels.

This was just great.

Dean reached for his guns and Sam picked up the salt shaker from the table.

From out of nowhere the spirit materialised in front of the couple.  They screamed.

Dean shot at it with a salt round but it disappeared.

Castiel looked over towards the couple nodding to Mariangela and the Winchesters.

‘Cupid’s arrow has struck,’ he said.

‘Son of a Bitch,’ Dean repeated under his breath.

‘We need to get that couple to safety,’ said Sam and he pulled the top off the salt shaker and began to make a ring of salt.

‘Get in the circle,’ Sam told the couple. ‘You’ll be safe in there.’

The couple did as Sam said. They looked confused but they asked no questions. They stepped into the ring, trembling with fear.

Dean shook the entrance door and the doors to the kitchen but with no luck.

‘The doors have been sealed,’ he shouted. ‘There’s no getting out.’

Dean raised his gun to shoot at the door in the hopes it would make a difference but he was struck from behind as the spirit appeared once again.

Sam fired a salt round at it but it merely disappeared and then re-appeared on the other side of the room.

‘Everyone get in the circle,’ commanded Dean, clutching his head where he had been hit by the spirit.

Everyone joined the couple in the circle.

‘Hey it’s gonna be alright,’ Sam said comfortingly. ‘We’re going to get you out of here safe, okay?’

‘The best we can do is deterring the spirit until we figure out what cursed object is keeping her here,’ said Dean. ‘If we stay inside the salt ring then maybe she’ll give up and we can get out of here alive.’

It appeared Mariangela had different plans.

She stepped out of the salt ring, hand outstretched.

Castiel tried to grab her before she stepped outside the circle put he missed.

Mariangela didn’t seem to be focussing on the others in the room. Her eyes were burning with ferocious energy and supreme concentration. It was as if she was surrounded by unspoken words, heavy and unuttered. She seemed unaware of the spirit which was slowly approaching her.

Sam and Dean looked at her in awe and for the first time they saw that despite being injured, Mariangela was an angel. She was a being with supreme power.

And she was summoning something.

Sam and Dean couldn’t fathom summoning something without the use of a circle. But the power that surrounded Mariangela was raw and finely controlled.

The space before her was shimmering as she dragged something into existence.

Sweat beaded her face and seconds later the Cherub appeared before Mariangela. The sprit was almost upon them.

The Cherub looked concerned when he saw Mariangela’s pained expression but the empathy turned to shock as she ripped the bow purposefully from his hand and broke it in half.

She spun to face the spirit whose outstretched arms were mere centimetres from Mariangela’s throat.

It disintegrated before her and the spirit was no more.


	31. Chapter 31

After a moment’s recovery Dean and Sam exited the salt circle, guns still raised cautiously. When they decided it was safe they lowered their weapons slowly, putting them back into their concealed holsters.

Sam turned to the terrified couple, ‘Hey, it’s over now’ he said. ‘It’s going to be alright.’

Dean tested the doors once again, finding that they were no longer locked. Sam gently guided the terrified couple outside, watching them shakily making their way to their car. As Sam watched them drive away he returned to the restaurant.

When Sam returned he saw Mariangela being crushed in a bear-hug from her Cherub brethren as Dean uncomfortably tried to explain why they had just broken his bow in half. At least it was the same Cherub they had met earlier and not a new one who had no idea of their ongoing investigation.

It appeared however, that the Cherub was quick on the uptake and was just grateful that no more people were going to get hurt. That was, apart from Mariangela who was still being hugged tightly.

It was a good thing that angels didn’t need to breathe.

Castiel picked up the broken bow and looked it over carefully. Sam and Dean approached him to look at the bow too.

‘It was a stroke of genius that Mariangela thought about the Cherub’s bow,’ Castiel murmured. ‘It certainly explains why the spirit was targeting all of the Cherub’s couples.’

Castiel looked over to Mariangela who was now standing on her own.

Evidently Cupid had left the building.

Castiel approached Mariangela. ‘Congratulations on your quick thinking,’ he said.

Mariangela nodded but she looked distant.

 Castiel was confused. He gently touched her hand in concern.  The touch pulled Mariangela from her thoughts back to the present.

Taking hold of her hands Castiel noted how she was shaking.

‘Were you scared?’ Castiel asked softly.

Mariangela nodded.

She had been terrified.

Mariangela had never once considered that this is what she would be doing when she was no longer in heaven.

All the fighting and the violence should have been left for the warrior classes of angels. No Seraphim should ever have been cast from heaven and punished, only to fall to earth, be tortured, rescued and then subjected to so much violence.

It was a world away from sitting at God’s Throne.

Was the entire world really so scary and so violent or was it just the world that the Winchester’s and Castiel inhabited?

Mariangela wanted to sign these questions to Castiel, hoping for answers but he held onto her hands tightly in an attempt to comfort her. Mariangela found she was unwilling for him to stop.

Neither angel mentioned that Castiel remained holding Mariangela’s hands long after they stopped shaking.

‘It’s time to quit the scene,’ said Dean as he and his brother made their way over to the angels. ‘The kitchen staff will probably have alerted the police, we should leave before they get here.’

Castiel nodded, he and Mariangela teleported instantly back to the hotel leaving Sam and Dean to walk the short distance back to the hotel.

Normally Dean would have complained about the angels and their sudden disappearing acts but he didn’t really want to deal with a shell-shocked Mariangela right now. He knew that Castiel could look after her just fine.

When the brothers returned to their hotel room they were greeted by Mariangela and Castiel sitting on the sofa comfortably watching what seemed to be a documentary on outer space. Both were seated closely to each other and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Whether they were enjoying the documentary or each other’s company was unclear.

Sam privately suspected the latter.

Dean gave Bobby a quick call on his cell to let him know how the case turned out. He put his cell on speaker so that Sam could join in on the conversation too. Bobby was surprised by how the case ended but he seemed relieved that it was solved.

‘Ain’t been much progress made on tracking down the Demon Carnival I’m afraid,’ said Bobby over the line. ‘All I’ve established so far is that the hit sent out on you has only been sent out to witches. Now, I’m sure you know but witches are not wholly supernatural; witches make the choice to become so. This means they are not regarded or respected as powerful members of the supernatural community. The fact that it is witches who were supposed hunt down and kill you boys and Castiel suggest that it is not a powerful member of the supernatural community behind leading the Carnival. Instead it’s one with strong links to the witches.’

‘That’s great, Bobby,’ said Sam but Bobby grunted in disagreement.

‘Just because they’re not a powerful member of the community doesn’t meant they themselves are not physically powerful,’ he said, voice unsure. ‘But at least you know to be on the lookout for witch attacks.’

Dean snorted, ‘Well that’s just swell Bobby.’

‘Don’t sass me boy, I still have a few more cases for you two and your angel friends. Go get a good night's sleep and ring me in the morning. I need you well rested for your next case.’  


	32. Chapter 32

Sam and Dean weren’t ready for bed when they ended their call with Bobby. With adrenaline still pumping through their system, sleep was seemingly impossible and neither brother much fancied the idea of lying in bed and staring at the dark ceiling for hours. Instead they decided everyone would go downstairs to the hotel bar for some celebratory drinks to kill an hour or two.

Sitting in an isolated booth, three beers and a cola on the table, the brother’s and the angels had a chance to relax and congratulate themselves on another case solved.

In an attempt to make Mariangela feel more involved in the Winchester’s and Castiel’s conversations, Sam and Dean attempted to learn some of the sign language Castiel and Mariangela had been developing together.

It quickly became a competition between the brothers, they would ask Mariangela a question and she would attempt to reply through the use of signs which Sam, Dean and Castiel would attempt to translate together.

‘What do you miss the most about heaven?’ asked Sam. It was something he had genuinely been curious about for a while now.

Mariangela looked thoughtful for a moment. After some thought she touched her throat and made an upwards gesture to her mouth and outwards.

‘Talking?’ guessed Sam.

Mariangela shook her head and repeated the gesture.

‘Singing?’ hazarded Dean.

Mariangela nodded and Dean fist-pumped the air in recognition of his obviously superior signing skills.

Castiel had been silent for the past few rounds of the game. His face was unreadable and his shoulders tense. He had been like that since returning from the restaurant. It seemed as though his mind was on heavier things.

Despite his mood Castiel had been listening intently to the brother’s questions and carefully awaiting Mariangela’s responses. Finally he spoke.

‘If you could have changed your mind, and supported Raphael, would you? It would have meant that you would still be in heaven, with your brethren, wings and a voice with which you could sing to your heart’s content?’

Mariangela didn’t even need to consider the thought, she shook her head vehemently.

The tension in Castiel’s shoulders dissolved, his cloudy expression seemed to lighten.

Whilst he had not been drowning in guilt per se, Castiel could not help but feel a responsible for Mariangela’s situation. It gave him a little comfort to note that she didn’t seem to blame him like he had been blaming himself.

Whilst Mariangela did not seem to note the change in Castiel’s mood, it did not go unnoticed by the brothers. Dean elbowed Sam conspiratorially and wiggled an eyebrow. Sam brushed off his brother’s antics easily and returned his attention to Mariangela. It was her turn to ask the questions and the brother’s needed to concentrate. Mariangela signed her question slowly so it could be understood.

_Do you like to sing?_

‘No,’ said Sam with a laugh. ‘I can’t sing to save my life.’

Mariangela repeated the question.

_Do you_ _**like** _ _to sing?_

Sam gave the question a little thought saying, ‘I suppose I do like singing. You don’t need to be a good singer to enjoy singing.’

Apparently Dean didn’t need to give the question as much thought as Sam, ‘I love singing, Mari. I’ll sing anywhere. I’ll sing in the shower, I’ll sing in my baby or in the motel when I’m alone. And I have been known to use the power of song to pick up chicks in bars.’

Mariangela looked happy that the brothers enjoyed singing. It was something in common, a link and bond to share between her and the humans who had saved her.  

Mariangela seemed unbothered by the Dean’s had abbreviation of her name. Or at least she failed to pass comment. Castiel and the brothers had begun to learn that tended to be a good sign. It was a tribute to the groups growing familiarity with Mariangela that Dean felt comfortable enough to give her a nickname other than _Seraph_.

Dean finished his beer with an ungentlemanly burp before offering to go up for the next round.

‘Hey, Mari,’ he said, ‘you’ve been nursing that cola for the past three rounds. Is it okay?’

Mariangela looked confused.

_It’s nicer than beer_ , she signed to Dean.

‘But you don’t like it?’ Dean finished.

_I’m not sure_ Mariangela replied.

Dean shrugged then went to the bar, returning with three more beers and a glass of orange juice.

‘Try this Mari,’ Dean said when he returned placing the orange juice in front of the angel.

Mariangela tentatively took a sip of the orange juice, seemingly hesitant due to its bright colour, but her eyes widened appreciatively. It was clear in her expression, she definitely liked the orange juice.

She offered the glass to the brothers, wordlessly asking if they would like a taste, eager to let everyone enjoy the wondrous creation that was orange juice, but they refused politely. They’d had orange juice before. It certainly wouldn’t have been as life-changing as Mariangela’s experience.

Unfazed by the brother’s less than enthusiastic reaction she offered the glass to Castiel who accepted. He had never tried orange juice before either. Taking a sip, he nodded appreciatively. It was indeed very nice.

Mariangela quickly finished her orange juice and Dean laughed.

‘It’s a good thing that you didn’t like beer or Sammy and I would be out a fortune,’ Dean said good-naturedly.

Mariangela smiled and turned to Castiel. She signed something, but it was a little too complex for the brothers to decipher.

‘What did she say, Cass?’ Sam asked curiously.

‘She said that she is happy. She is glad that people have taken the time to listen to her as well as talking to her for a change. She feels like she is no longer an outsider.’

Sam and Dean smiled. Mariangela had seemed like a temporary addition when they had first met, now she was becoming more valuable to the team. Who knows, perhaps she would stay with them for a while longer.

The thought wasn’t as inconvenient to the brothers as it would have been mere weeks ago.

Another round of beer and four orange juices later and the group were ready for bed. Sam and Dean quickly fell into comfortable, deep sleep, aided markedly by the alcohol while Castiel and Mariangela watched on, two guardian angels, all throughout the night.

 


	33. Chapter 33

The team had until noon to leave the hotel room, but they were up long beforehand, using their spare time to clean their guns, check all their weapons and pack their meagre bags before going on the road once again.

The welcome lull in activity gave the brothers a chance to discuss the implications of what Bobby had told them last night.

‘If you look at it logically,’ Sam said as he carefully took apart, cleaned and then reassembled one of the guns, ‘it makes sense to assume that the person who called the hit on us is a witch since so far witches are the only ones who are aware that the bounty is placed on our heads.’

‘I get that part,’ replied Dean. He paused momentarily as he cleaned the final specks of blood off the Angel Blade. It was a bloody reminder of the first night the group had met Mariangela. Once clean, Dean placed it back into its respective bag. ‘What I don’t get,’ he continued, ‘is your crazy theory that a witch is the leader of the carnival. I mean, come on Sammy, it’s just absurd to think of a witch being able to control one demon, let alone a whole army of them. It just isn’t done. It can’t be done.’

Sam was silent for a while. He slowly placed down the gun he had been polishing and looked up at Dean.

‘Actually, it could be done, if the witch is powerful enough, old enough. Maybe they found a spell to bring a demon under their control and then adapted it somehow, so it could be used on a grand scale.’

Dean thought about this. ‘It explains why the demons in the carnival are so low level. They’d be a hell of a lot easier to control than higher level demons.’

‘So it could be a witch with demon bodyguards.’

‘I’d call them cannon fodder. They’re not exactly channelling Kevin Costner levels of motivation. Even if that means our witch is Witney Houston.’

‘Did you just reference _The Bodyguard_?’ asked an incredulous Sam.

Dean dodged the question with a well time coughing fit. He’d swear up and down the walls that it was due to inhaling some salt when checking their supplies. Sam suspected differently. But questionable movie references aside, it was a highly plausible theory and one which warranted further research.

Putting down one of the many guns he had been servicing, Sam called Bobby.

‘I gotta tell you, son, I had been thinking just the same thing last night. I tried to look some stuff up but there was just too much to go through on my own, even with help from a bottle of liquor.’

Sam took the hint, ‘We were just about to head to yours anyway. When we get there I’m sure everyone will give a hand in research.’

Disgusted Dean ripped the phone from his brother’s hand, ‘I thought you had another case lined up for us Bobby. You sure that we’ll have enough time to join your book club before we let our bad guys get away?’

Bobby snorted, ‘Nice try Jackass, maybe if you and your brother hadn’t spent the night in a bar and left bright and early, like I asked you to do, you could have made it to my house before some other hunters came by and took your case. You snooze you lose, son.’

Dean had no comeback, Bobby was too damn perceptive. Either that or he knew them too damn well.

‘Maybe next time,’ continued Bobby. ‘I hope you’re bringing your angel tag-alongs. We could use a little extra knowledge, and a hell of a lot of extra muscle.’

Dean grunted and ended the call still pissed that Bobby had given some other hunters their next case.

Once they were finished the brothers stood up, ready to leave.

Mariangela and Castiel were contently sitting on the couch in the hotel room just as they had been all morning. They had been observing Sam and Dean as they cleaned their weapons. Castiel had been providing a sort of running commentary to tell Mariangela, to the best of his knowledge, what the brothers were doing. He casually answered any of the tentative questions Mariangela asked him. She seemed relieved her curiosity did not seem to bother him.

The Seraphim were a more curious bunch than the warrior classes Castiel was accustomed to. Seraphim had not been created to be the unquestioning soldiers had had always been accustomed to and it was refreshing for Castiel to be viewed as the expert on all things human.

The angels stood up when the brothers stood up, echoing their movements.

It was time to go.


	34. Chapter 34

The Impala arrived at Bobby’s that evening.

Sam and Dean were not expecting a warm and fluffy greeting from the old man, but they certainly didn’t expect to be given a small tower of books each and grumpily told to try and find whatever spell that the witch may possibly be using to control the demons. Dean began to say something, but he held back his witty comment when he saw the half empty bottle of whiskey on Bobby’s desk and its companions littered over the floor.

It looked like Sam, Dean and the angels hadn’t been the only ones busy with a case.

Sam and Dean sighed, trudging into Bobby’s and placing their respective piles of books on the ground, picking up the first book to make their start. The angels did the same, but they not appear as frustrated at the mountain of research before them.

Evening ran into night and night ran into morning, but there was still no real progress.

‘Perhaps you should all take some time to rest,’ Castiel suggested to the men before him. ‘Mariangela and I shall continue researching. We do not require respite.’

Reluctantly the three men agreed. Exhaustion was clearly a more powerful motivator than the stubbornness the three men shared.

 Once they awoke after a few hours it was clear the men were all better rested.

‘Any progress yet guys?’ Dean asked as he stretched stiffly.

Mariangela and Castiel shook their heads in almost perfect unison. No progress as of yet.

As the piles of books before the group slowly diminished their agitation grew more fervent, there were only a handful of books left and there had still been no progress in finding a possible spell which may lead to controlling demons.

All too soon the books were finished. Along with another two bottles of cheap whiskey.

Bobby swore loudly and ran his fingers through his thinning hair.

 Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

‘Boys, I’m stuck. I’ve borrowed every book on witchcraft from every hunter in the state. If there ain’t nothin’ here, there ain’t nothin’ we can do.’ Bobby said, fuelling his frustrations with another glass of whiskey.

‘I don’t know Bobby, maybe I know somewhere that could help.’ Sam said hesitantly, ‘Dean do you remember those books on witchcraft that Cass found in Francis Harris’ office?’

Dean nodded, sensing where this was going.

‘Well, there were hundreds of them, and Harris was a powerful witch. She was just casually using hundred-year old bones in her spells. Definitely beyond the normal level, so maybe her books are still in her office. Maybe we could get our hands on them.’

‘Sammy, it’s gonna take us a whole day to just get there, and another to get back. We’re just wasting time if it’s a pointless journey. Chances are the books are gone, and if they’re not, we can’t guarantee they’ll be any more useful that the books we’ve already looked through. Or, even worse, if a witch catches us they might know we’re onto them. Other covens will know what happened by now. Maybe they came for Harris’ books.’

Sam looked conflicted. He still thought they should go for it, make the journey and get the books, but Dean’s points made sense.

‘Dean is right Sam,’ Bobby said begrudgingly, echoing Sam’s thoughts. ‘It’s wasting too much time to drive down and back here for the books. Hell, it’d take too long to drive and look at the books there.’

Sam looked defeated.

‘However,’ Bobby continued. ‘It’s a lucky thing that we have two angels on our side that can go back and forth in seconds. And they can retrieve books for us. Didn’t Cass find the stash in the first place?’

Bobby looked to Castiel who nodded. It seemed feasible.

A plan was put in place and soon Mariangela and Castiel were popping in and out with handfuls of books, handing them to the brothers and Bobby who were sorted them and then placed them on the floor. In no time the floor was filled with the retrieved books.

Castiel and Mariangela looked at their work. All the books had been transferred from the late Francis Harris’ office into Bobby’s mess of a study.

‘Mariangela, are you alright? You have teleported a lot today. It could not have been easy for you,’ Castiel asked.

Mariangela shrugged. It was an oddly human gesture. She felt somewhat weakened but it would pass. It was an improvement on how she would a month ago. She was pleased she had made progress.

Accepting Mariangela’s answer easily, Castiel gestured to where the men had resumed researching, this time with Francis Harris’ library. Mariangela picked up two books from one of the piles, handing one to Castiel and keeping the other for herself. They re-joined the group eager to find some information which may prove informative.

By the end of the second day of research the group were still nowhere near an answer, but they still had a small mountain of Harris’ books to read. Whilst it was frustrating to still have found nothing there were still many books to go through. Hope springs eternal. Perhaps they would find something in the morning.

Once again the three hunters allowed themselves to fall asleep, safe in the knowledge they had guardian angels looking over them and working throughout the night.


	35. Chapter 35

Once again the research done by the angels overnight had failed to yield many results. A vast portion of the books had been read through and placed in the rapidly growing pile of books which had proven to have been of no use. It wasn’t looking good.

Bobby woke up first, sighing as he watched Castiel place another book onto the ‘useless’ pile. He had hoped that something would have been found overnight. Evidently not. Stretching his aching joints and weary bones, he made his way to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Going back into his study, Bobby checked his watch. It was early, but it was time to wake the Winchesters. Time to get back to work.

By some stroke of luck, it only took the hunters until their second cup of coffee to get the answers they were looking for. Success at last.

In one of the books taken from Harris’ office there was a spell for bringing a demon under one’s control.

‘It is a spell which only yields temporary results,’ Sam read aloud to the group. ‘It’s a powerful spell but it’s broken when the caster shows any signs of weakness.’

‘What happens when the spell is broken?’ asked Bobby.

Sam traced his finger down the page reading the paragraphs quickly, trying to find relevant information.

‘If any signs of weakness were shown, the hold over the demons is over,’ Sam paraphrased. ‘The demon then turns on the spell caster. Probably exacting revenge for being forced to be a puppet to the caster’s whims.’

‘That’s great!’ Dean said excitedly, throwing down the book on his lap which he no longer needed. ‘Now we have a way to end this. Find the spell caster, make them show a sign of weakness then let the demons finish them off.’

‘And how exactly are we going to make this spell-caster in question show weakness?’ Sam asked dryly.

‘I’ve always found a bullet can make anyone have a moment of weakness.’ Dean said with a smirk.

‘I don’t know boys,’ Bobby said hesitantly, ‘this spell caster, or witch, or whoever, must be pretty assured that they have no weaknesses. After all they seem to have modified this spell to work on a grand scale. That’d mean a lot of angry demons on your heels.’

‘I know what that’s like,’ muttered Dean.

Sam and Dean suddenly weren’t so sure they wanted to find the Carnival again in a hurry. Whoever was in charge clearly wasn’t messing around.

‘First things first,’ Bobby said, ‘now we have a spell, we need to figure out how the spell-caster modified it. Sam, you and I can work on that. Dean, you can start blessing holy water, making salt rounds. Make yourself useful.’

Dean smiled. He knew Bobby could see his desperation to get away from those goddamn books.

Research was the worst thing to ever have happened to him. Hands down. And yes, Dean was including hell.

But Sam, Dean and Bobby apparently were not the only ones who wish to be prepared.

Mariangela turned to Castiel and signed quickly. Castiel translated easily.

_I wish to learn how to fight._

_I wish to aid you in the imminent future._

_I am aware that I have no skills but I have all the powers of an angel and it will give me an advantage. I would be useful to you, Sam and Dean._

Castiel looked unwilling, but he did not wish Mariangela to be defenceless. He dreaded to think what might happen if she somehow ended up a fight and did not know how to defend or protect herself. The very thought made his vessel’s heart thump heavily, as if filled with worry. Reluctantly Castiel took Mariangela outside, to Dean’s car. He opened the trunk and pulled out the Angel Blades out of the Quasi-Armoury.

‘These are the weapons of Heaven’s warriors and Archangels.’ Castiel said. There was a sombre edge to his voice. This was something he was not taking lightly.

Good.

Neither was Mariangela.

‘These blades are fatal to human, angels and most supernatural creatures. Most importantly, they’re fatal to demons.’ Castiel’s voice was cool and collected. It was the commanding tone he used with the new warriors in heaven. ‘However, use this blade wrong and it can cause at much injury to you as to your enemy. We will not start with Angel Blades, but hopefully you will become proficient enough to use one, in time. Firstly we will start with these.’

Castiel picked up two normal blades, they were a pair. They were also of similar proportions to the Angel Blade. He gave one to Mariangela and kept the other for himself.

Mariangela took the Faux Angel Blade from Castiel but she held it gingerly. Seraphim were peaceful and tried not to associate themselves with weapons in any way. Mariangela held the blade like it was a snake poised to attack.

Mariangela looked at Castiel expectantly. The trust in her eyes relaxed him a little. He wished he didn’t have to teach her to fight. He wished he could just spend hours watching documentaries on space, or even the late-night infomercials with her. Castiel wished he could explain all he knew about human kind to Mariangela. He wished that she would spend her life in blissful ignorance of the horror and violence of earth, but he knew that was never going to happen. After all, violence and horror was all she had been exposed to since she was thrown to earth.

He wished all of this wasn’t his fault.

It was time to teach Mariangela how to fight back.

Without changing his facial expression, or giving any warning, Castiel lunged towards Mariangela, his own blade sinister in his hand.

Not knowing how to parry the attack Mariangela did not attempt to block it. She managed to dodge it by throwing herself to the left and teleporting behind Castiel. This was no time for a faint heart so she tightened her grip on her blade and thrust forward, towards Castiel’s unguarded back. But Castiel was skilled. He echoed her technique of teleporting behind her and kicked her to the ground. Mariangela felt the knife pressing into her spine.

 ‘Dead,’ Castiel said quietly.

Mariangela understood what that meant. That he could have killed at that moment. And therefore so could a demon.

Mariangela stood up and allowed the fighting to resume. She had to get better.

Castiel uttered the phrase ‘Dead,’ three-hundred and twenty seven times that day. Had Mariangela been human she would have been heavy with exhaustion, barely able to move with cuts and bruises and the sheer exertion of the strenuous training.

Castiel had deemed Angel Blades too dangerous and had substituted them for normal blades but that didn’t mean the cuts Mariangela had received at his hands didn’t sting or bleed. This wasn’t a time for coddling. Castiel was cut-throat in his approach. Mariangela would have been dead three-hundred and twenty seven times over and she hadn’t even managed to make a scratch on Castiel, who stood looking as impassive as ever, his trench coat unruffled, not even a hair out of place.

It was frustrating to say the least.

‘Perhaps we should stop for the evening, Mariangela?’ Castiel suggested. ‘It will give you some time for your injuries to heal.’

Mariangela stood up off the ground and wiped a little blood from her forehead that had been threatening to drip into her eye. She shook her head. She wasn’t ready to give up.

Castiel shrugged and resumed his offensive stance, prepared to train for as long as Mariangela wanted. He was surprised that a Seraphim had managed to last this long. Part of him was intrigued to see how much longer she would last.

The training, which went on throughout the night, did not go much better that the training that day. As the sky lightened and morning creeped into existence Mariangela was stained with blood and dirt. But there was still a determined light in her eyes, a glint of persistence. A flicker of new-found confidence.

Mariangela lunged at Castiel head on. Running towards him Mariangela raised the blade. Castiel raised his blade to block her strike. A head on attack was brave but it would prove useless.

At the last second Mariangela, just as she began to thrust forward her blade, teleported behind Castiel and stabbed him in the shoulder, kicking him brutally to the ground.

It was at that moment that Sam, Dean and Bobby had decided to take a walk outside to see how much progress the angels had made.

Sam gasped audibly when he saw Mariangela, and it wasn’t surprising. Her body was drenched in blood, sweat and mud. She was standing with one foot on Castiel’s back ensuring he couldn’t escape. Her knife was firmly imbedded in Castiel’s shoulder.

Not noticing the company, Mariangela removed her foot and pulled the blade out of Castiel’s shoulder. She did it slowly, so as not to cause any unnecessary pain, just as he had done several times for her over the course of the marathon training session.

Castiel stood up, not bothering to dust himself off, seemingly unperturbed by the injury. He nodded approvingly.

Mariangela didn’t sign anything, but her eyes conveyed her message well enough.

_Dead._

Castiel looked at her with careful eyes. He allowed his lips to curl at the edges and a soft smile to escape.

He was proud of her.

Seeing this pride Mariangela could not help but smile back. A tension in her shoulders relaxed.

Sam, Dean and Bobby all shared a confused look.

Dean shook his head and murmured something that sounded like, ‘damn angels,’ before going inside for a cup of coffee, he checked his watch. Let’s make that coffee a beer. Sam and Bobby decided to follow his lead.

Castiel and Mariangela, who were not seemingly aware of their presence in the first place, did not notice the men leave. Instead Castiel began to teach Mariangela how to hold a blade in a more effective way. Castiel stood behind Mariangela, showing her how to grip the blade and position the entire arm in a more effective way. He showed her how to block attacks by throwing up her arms.

Mariangela listened to Castiel with rapt attention and tried to follow his instruction to the letter.

Mariangela was highly aware that Castiel spent most of his life with the warrior class of angels who were created to be able to fight only to go down to earth to spend his time with hunters who have been training their whole lives to fight the supernatural. It must get frustrating to have someone so unfamiliar to a weapon. She tried focus on the blade and not let the fact she could feel his breath on the back of her neck back distract her from the training at hand. A feat which was easier said than done. It was not the time for distractions though, she should be making progress.

Castiel felt Mariangela’s back stiffen as he stood behind her.

‘Are you alright, Mariangela? Perhaps I have pushed you too hard.’

Mariangela turned around and signed to him her worry, that he would exasperated at her slow advancement when he was used to spending his time around warriors.

Castiel shook his head, ‘You are making admirable progress for a beginner. Over the next few months you shall really have an opportunity to make progress.’

Mariangela felt heartened by this and resumed her efforts to correct her fighting stance. She hoped that, in the future, she would make enough progress that she might be able to fight alongside Castiel, not merely train with him.

Although, Mariangela found the violence rather hard to swallow, she comforted herself by thinking of it as a necessary evil. She was secretly glad that Castiel found it worth his time to spend a few months training her up. It was heartening.

Castiel had just resumed a fighting stance when Dean ran out to the porch and yelled over to the angels, ‘You guys are gonna want to come and hear this.’

Once inside, the angels heard Bobby on the phone. His tone was urgent and he was quickly scribbling on a scrap of paper. Bobby’s head snapped up to Sam.

‘Pass me a map,’ he said urgently.

Sam quickly did so and Bobby grabbed a pen and circled a spot in red marker.

Bobby hung up the phone and looked at the two brothers and two angels before him.

‘We found your damn Carnival.’


	36. Chapter 36

In mere minutes Bobby’s house went from calm and relaxed to full blown military operation mode.

Bobby’s ear never left his phone as he rang all of the hunters who were to be involved in the case, giving them directions and addresses to where they needed to be. He gave the Winchesters rapid-fire instructions to get everything prepared whilst he finished contacting all the hunters.

Dean finished prepping the salt rounds and holy water. He had prepared enough to take out a small army.

Good, a small army was exactly what they were up against.

Sam was checking the Impala and Bobby’s scrapper of the week, making sure they had full tanks and full arsenals and that the trunks were fully stocked. Mariangela and Castiel were helping wherever they were needed, moving boxes, putting holy water into the cars and then blessing it even more with an angels touch to make the holy water even more potent against their supernatural enemies.

Mariangela placed the two blades that she and Castiel had used for training back into the trunk of the Impala. Sam, who had just finished checking the trunk, looked at Mariangela.

‘Hey, Mari,’ he said, using the nickname that seemed to have stuck, ‘I was thinking, there’s an Angel Blade in the trunk and I never feel quite right using it. You should have it, it seems more appropriate.’

Mariangela took the Angel Blade that Sam offered her carefully. It was the blade which Castiel had shown her a few days before. She held it almost reverently before she placed it gently up her sleeve. It was the way Sam had seen countless angels conceal their Angel Blades.

Within a few hours Bobby had informed all the hunters involved and updated them on the situation. Now, the group were almost ready to go. Bobby was just waiting to hear back from the hunter who had tipped him off in the first place, to confirm one final time that this was the Carnival they were looking for.

A brief call just a few moments later confirmed that it was.

‘How do we know for sure that this is the right Carnival?’ asked Sam, voice filled with curiosity.

‘Two men went missing in a small town in Georgia, It just so happened there was a Carnival in town. The two men just happened to disappear the same night that the carnival came to town. I called in some favours with an old hunter buddy and he scoped the place out. He recognised a few faces, members of staff in the carnival, from the files I had given him concerning missing persons in the case.’

Sam nodded, impressed.

‘He has a little more information than that though,’ Bobby continued. ‘The Staff Only tent where you found Mari is gone, but there’s another and more secure tent in the carnival. It has numerous wards, my buddy assumes they are to keep curious civilians out and keep the carnival off the radar. If we’re going to find our leader anywhere, it’s going to be in that tent.’

Sam nodded thoughtfully, he was sure there would be Enochian wards there too, even if there was no angel in the carnival anymore. These wards would have to be broken before Castiel or Mariangela could enter the playing field. If Mariangela was even to be involved in the fighting.

Would Mariangela be involved in the fighting?

Sam turned to ask Dean what his thoughts on Mariangela’s involvement on the matter were when Dean’s phone began to ring.

Dean picked up the phone with a cautious hello. As the caller began to speak and Dean recognised the voice he visibly relaxed. It was Carol, a witch hunter Sam and Dean had met whilst on a case in Oregon. Fiery tempered, fiercely intelligent and around forty years old, an impressive age for a hunter, Carol was one of the best witch hunters in the States. She was cool and collected, tough as nails and a damn fine hunter.

Since Carol was an expert on witches and hunting them down, Dean had given her the spell that they had suspected the witch had used to control the demons in the hopes she could figure out how it could be adapted to work on a grand scale.

Where the brothers and Bobby had no luck on the subject, Carol had been remarkably more successful.

‘The spell is used as a way to take control over a demon by allowing it to enter your own body. It allows the vessel to overpower the demon rather than vice versa when a demon enters a vessel and takes control. This spell-caster however has adapted the spell so that the demon can inhabit bodies other than the casters. They then overpower the demon in their vessel and take control of both demon and vessel. As long as the caster has access to bodies they have access to more demons.’ Carol said over the phone to Dean.

‘Darlin’ this is way over my head. Explain it again to someone who’s gonna understand,’ Dean said, handing the phone over to his resident nerd, Sam.

 ‘Hey Carol,’ Sam said as he took the phone from Dean.

‘Hey there Sweetheart,’ came Carol’s reply. She repeated what she had told Dean to Sam.

‘What about the spell-caster showing weakness? I thought there could be some way-‘

Carol cut Sam off with a snort, ‘I’m sorry Sweetheart, there’s no damn way that this Big Bad in question is going to be showing any weakness, not if they’ve been in control of so many demons for so long. It’s like a circle of power. More power, more demons. More demons, more power.’

‘Well, is there any way that we could force them to get weaker, perhaps a counter spell?’

Carol thought for a moment, ‘You could strip them of their main source of protection. Kill as many of their pet demons as you can, or exorcise them on a grand scale. Get rid of the demons and then face the spell-caster. It won’t necessarily mean that the spell-caster is weakened. It’ll just mean they will have less of a defence.’

‘Thanks Carol, you’ve been a lot of help,’ Sam said politely.

‘I wish I could do more to help, Sweetie, I really do, but Georgia isn’t the only place with a witch problem. I have to head down to Salem to get rid of a particularly vicious witch cult.’

Sam chuckled at the irony before he said his farewells and ended the call.

‘So, what’d you learn?’ Dean asked as Sam handed him back his phone. Sam quickly filled them in on their way to the Impala. They were ready to go. Bobby had gone on ahead, leaving when Carol called. He had been unwilling to waste anymore time. He would prepare a motel room for everyone and try to arrange a safe place for all the hunters to meet up and discuss their strategy.

Sam and Dean decided to use the long drive as an opportunity to discuss various plans of action. Castiel and Mariangela, who came along for the journey, sat in the back of the Impala. Castiel provided a little to the conversation but mostly looked thoughtful. Mariangela sat silently in the backseat, seemingly unaware of Castiel’s infringement of personal space and how closely they were sitting together.

Everyone had more important things on their minds.


	37. Chapter 37

When Sam and Dean arrived at the motel they quickly booked their room and dumped their stuff on their beds before making their way to Bobby’s room for a meeting with all the other hunters. Seemingly with nothing better to do, the angels joined them.

Walking into the room Sam and Dean were greeted by several hunters. Some they knew well, some they recognised, and some were newbies on the scene.  Sam and Dean greeted them all before making their way over to Bobby who was sitting on a chair at the far end of the room talking to a group of hunters.

It appeared that the Winchesters and the Angels had arrived early. It took over an hour for some of the hunters to finish arriving. They had travelled from all over the country. Some hunters, still travelling from even further afield wouldn’t make it until later, but until then, the large group growing before them would suffice. 

Whilst Castiel and Mariangela stood in silence, Sam, Dean and Bobby chatted amicably to the other hunters, exchanging stories and catching up. Once enough hunters had assembled, Bobby, the clear leader began to talk. He briefly outlined the objectives and attack plan for the carnival.

‘Now I know some of you guys aren’t as young as you used to be,’ Bobby said. ‘But I sure as hell know that something like age ain’t gonna stop you, but we’ll need some hunters to stay behind, manning the research. Any old feller’s up to the task?’

A few of the older hunters put their arms up, most laughed at Bobby calling them ‘Old Fellers.’ They couldn’t have been more than a few years old than him. Some might have been younger.

Hunter’s weren’t known for their long lifespans.

One of the more injured hunters put up his arm, rather sensibly too, Sam thought. From looking at the way the hunter was sitting Sam could tell that he had a number of broken ribs to go with the casts on his left arm and left leg. It would have been insanity to assume that he could partake in any more fighting. Nevertheless, the injured hunter had a cheeky smile on his face. He clearly enjoyed the hunt.

Bobby nodded at the men who had volunteered, ‘that’s good, a perfect amount. Anyone else want to help from back here?’

Castiel looked at Mariangela expectantly but she looked confused. Castiel’s gaze narrowed, ‘Offer yourself as a volunteer to stay behind,’ he said quietly.

Mariangela shook her head.

‘Volunteer,’ Castiel repeated.

Mariangela shook her head with more conviction.

_I wish to be involved with the fighting. I can help_ , she signed.

Castiel looked irritated but it was clear that Mariangela was adamant.

Whilst their disagreement was quiet it did not go unnoticed, rather unsurprisingly. All eyes had been on the angels from the moment they had stepped in the room. The hunter’s reactions were various mixtures of awe and fear. It was easy to forget how astonishing the mere presence of angels on earth were, and how amazing it was to know that there could be something out there with supernatural powers that were willing to be on their side.

Unwilling for their angelic companions to make a scene Sam and Dean tried to intervene.

‘Hey guys,’ said Dean softly, ‘It’s up to Mari whether or not she wished to be involved in the hunt.’

‘You’ve been training Mari for the past few days,’ Sam said, supporting his brother’s statement.

‘She had been trained for less than 36 hours. She has only beaten me once,’ Castiel’s tone was sharp.

‘If Mari could beat you once then she can definitely beat a demon, Cass,’ Sam said.

‘Not to mention the added bonus of Grace. It’ll make her strong and quick’ said Dean.

‘Demons too possess supernatural abilities. They too are “strong and quick”, that is not enough in a fight like this,’ Castiel said.

Mariangela tapped Castiel’s shoulder gently, attracting his attention. She looked pleadingly into his eyes for a moment.

There was a moment of silence.

A baited breath.

‘Fine, you may attend the hunt with the humans if you wish,’ Castiel acquiesced.

Dean concealed an incredulous snort. That was a complete one eighty. Well. It appeared that Castiel was weak against puppy dog eyes.

Or perhaps Castiel was weak towards Mariangela.

Dean shared a look with his brother.

Castiel’s face still belied his reluctance, it was clear he did not wish for Mariangela to become involved with the fighting. On the other hand, Mariangela’s eyes had brightened up with excitement. She grabbed Castiel’s hand with her own happily. It was a gesture of gratitude and excitement. Sam didn’t miss how Castiel’s hand gently slipped around Mariangela’s own or how the angels continued holding hands for the rest of Bobby’s meeting.

Once the A-Bomb situation had been diffused Bobby continued with the meeting. It passed in an interesting fusion of swearing, arguing and agreeing vehemently, in the way that only a hunter’s gathering could. One hunter would offer a suggestion only to be instantly contended by another hunter, voices would be raised and guns would be drawn before Bobby intervened and an agreement was reached.

Surprisingly quickly a plan was formulated which was to be carried out in two days’ time. This gave an opportunity for other hunters from farther afield to get involved in the fighting. Some hunters present had begun making calls to hunters all over the country, calling in old and new favours. Hopefully they could net a few more hunters to help out. The more the merrier.

Exhausted, and mildly deafened from all the arguing and raised voices, Sam and Dean returned to their hotel room accompanied by the angels.

Castiel, seeming desperate to inform Mariangela as much as he could before the hunt, was explaining to her how to force a demon from its vessel. She was nodding interestedly.

When Sam and Dean went to bed Mariangela and Castiel were still deep in their own form of conversation, an odd mix of signing and a whole lot of guesswork. With every hour they honed their language a little more. The sound of Castiel’s voice was gradually replaced by the gentle noise of TV infomercials as the angels ceased their conversation and kept watch over the brothers.

It was strangely comforting to know that there was someone watching over them as they slept as a constant presence. And although they would never admit it Dean and Sam were sleeping the best they had been in a long time.


	38. Chapter 38

In the morning Sam and Dean awoke refreshed and amicable. But their combined good mood was shattered almost instantly when Bobby came knocking at their door.

‘Bad news boys,’ Bobby said, leaning on the doorframe, not bothering to enter the motel room, ‘ten people disappeared from town last night. I’m calling a meeting in my room in fifteen minutes. This has changed a few things. You better drag your asses on over there before everyone else arrives.’

Bobby left the Winchesters, moving along to another hunter’s room, filling them in too.

Dean sighed. He and his brother had angels watching over them as they slept. Those poor people taken in the night did not.

Sam and Dean shoved on their boots and headed to Bobby’s motel-room-hunter-HQ.

Soon all of the hunters from last night’s meeting were present, as well as a few new faces that were obviously new arrivals. Their numbers had grown, now there were nearly twenty hunters in the room, a small amount in general terms but an impressive number when it came to gathering hunters.

‘We have a few things to discuss folks,’ Bobby said, as he sat down in one of the motel’s armchairs, ‘Our number one priority is shutting this carnival down. Now we need to figure out whether or not we are willing to stick to our original plan or whether we should hit the carnival tonight.’

It was a hard situation to gauge. Should the hunters rush ahead, attack that night even though their numbers were still so few, or should they wait and risk more civilians going missing?

As to be expected, reactions from the hunters were severely mixed. The more gung-ho of the hunters felt that they shouldn’t even wait until nightfall and that they should just attack now. The innocent bystanders who were visiting the carnival would be unfortunate civilian causalities who just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Other’s felt that they should stick to their original plan and wait for more hunters to arrive. There were still more on their way. They were grossly outnumbered by enemies as it stood at the moment. There was strength in numbers.

The debating had not made much progress between the large group of hunters, and tempers were beginning to flare. Suddenly a young hunter, the one with several broken bones, made his way into the room, seemingly as quickly as he could move.

‘Excuse me, Mr. Singer. There’s been an alert on the police scanner,’ he said hurriedly.

Bobby had set up a police scanner the night before in one of the hunters rooms, various hunters had been taking shifts manning it.

‘What is it?’ Bobby asked, thankful for a brief break from the ongoing chaos.

‘A mother wants to put out a missing person’s report on her three sons. They didn’t come home last night and she’s worried. Since she can’t officially file a missing person’s report until they’ve been gone for forty-eight hours the cops can’t take any official action, but they are telling the patrol cars to keep an eye out.’

Those three missing people bring last night’s missing people count up to thirteen.

That was thirteen too many.

Hunters may seldom see eye to eye on a many things but it was unanimously agreed that no more civilians could get taken by the demons.

An agreement was reached quickly. They would attack the carnival as soon as darkness falls. That would allow civilians time to get out of the way as well as give the hunters an opportunity prepare. It would also allow some more of the hunters who had not yet arrived to show up and get briefed.

It was not ideal. It meant they would remain short in numbers and would be totally outnumbered by the enemy. An enemy, judging by the increased number of abductees, were aware that the hunters were coming. But there was no other option but to attack the carnival and put it down once and for all.

‘We’re going to be walking into a trap folks,’ Bobby said, ‘We’re going to be outnumbered and easily overpowered, this isn’t going to be your average hunt. But you know what they say. If you had wanted an easy job, you shouldn’t have picked the hunting life.’

The rest of the day was spent briefing the new hunters as they arrived on the team’s new plans and getting the weapons ready.

Once everyone was sufficiently armed they returned to Bobby’s room for a final briefing. There was no room for mistakes in an operation as big as this, everything needed to go according to plan.

Before entering Bobby’s motel room one of the younger hunters tentatively asked Mariangela and Castiel if they required any weapons. Mariangela looked unsure but Castiel shook his head. An Angel Blade would be all they need.

The young hunter nodded and looked suitably awed.

The angels entered the room after the young hunter, both looking a little worse for the wear. Whilst the hunters were preparing their weapons, filling bags with salt and filling bottles with holy water, the angels were trying to get a last minute, intense training session. It was meant to reassure Castiel that everything would be fine, that Mariangela could handle herself perfectly fine in a battlefield, but it had done quite the opposite. Mariangela had improved but she was still full of openings and weak points. He had tried convincing her one last time not to become involved with the fighting but the argument which resulted from it had done nothing but strengthen Mariangela’s determination to be involved with the fight.

Even now the atmosphere between the angels was a post-argument aura, crackling with electricity and unsaid words. Words which Castiel wished he could explain to her. He had seen good warriors die in the battlefields, angels whom he had trained for years still falling, slain in battle. He did not wish to see that happen to Mariangela. The very thought made his heart ache. He had grown fond of Mariangela’s presence, and feelings had grown. Feelings he was unwilling to explore just yet.

Yet despite the angel’s disagreement they still stood side by side during the meeting.

Once the room was sufficiently full Bobby cleared his throat. That wasn’t enough to settle some of the younger, less experienced but more rowdy, hunters who hadn’t heard of Bobby Singer.

Bobby Singer was the man who got the King of Hell to refund him his soul and keep his legs in the deal. And when he talked, you sure better listen.

Bobby raised his shotgun and whistled loudly.

The rowdy hunters soon quietened down.

Sam and Dean stood stoically behind Bobby ready to give out orders where needed. The angels were close by their side. It was an impressive sight.

Bobby quickly explained the need for them to remain in groups. A few hunters grumbled but offered no real opposition. Sam barely concealed his sigh of relief.

 ‘Raise your hands if you know exorcisms by heart,’ Bobby said.

Around a quarter of the room raised their hands. Sam was one of the hunters who raised his hand, he missed Deans smile of pride.

Bobby quickly began organising the hunters, ‘Get into groups of three and four. Every group should have at least one person who knows an exorcism off by heart. The plan is to try and save as many of the kidnapped people as we can, not just kill the vessel to kill the demon. It’s gonna take a little more time but lower the civilian casualty numbers. We all know it’s worth it in the long run.’

Mariangela was placed in a group with Dean and Sam and Bobby. Castiel however was placed in a group with some rookie hunters who didn’t know an exorcism by rote. This gave them a little more experience and would hopefully stop them from making any stupid decisions.

Castiel and Mariangela, despite their argument did not seem overly enthused about being in separate groups and spent most of the remaining time during the meeting gazing at each other mournfully.

Dean made a gagging sound and retching noises behind Mariangela’s back as Sam tried to conceal a smile. Bobby thwacked him on the back of the head and then Sam really did smile. Dean scowled and Bobby continued.

‘Once all the demons are disposed of then, and only then, are you to approach the tent where we suspected the leader resides. I assume there’s gonna be a second barrage of demons, less in numbers but superior in strength. Anyone with serious injuries should stay off the scene, lest you have a death wish or you’re just plain dumb. We enter that tent as a team. We do not go alone.’

The seriousness of the mission seemed to be finally sinking in. Even the young hunters on Castiel’s team had fallen silent, listening to Bobby intently.

‘We’re not really sure what to expect once we get past the demons and get into that tent.’ Bobby admitted. ’The tent is gonna be covered in wards and whoever or whatever is inside it is gonna be dangerous.’

The silence in the room became uncomfortable. Bobby was clearly unhappy with it too. No one liked going into a hunt blind.

‘We’re just going to have to be prepared for every eventuality, we suspect witch but it could be anything with the ability to cast spells.’ 

No one complained, shouted or raised a gun threateningly. Silence was not a noise one ever wished to hear at a hunter gathering.

After a moment’s awkward silence Bobby asked, ‘anyone else got anything to say?’

Castiel stepped forward, ‘If anyone should find themselves in a situation where they require assistance just pray and I shall appear. I can aid you and heal you.’

Mariangela nodded too, but she was unsure if anyone noticed.

The tense silence dissolved and Sam was secretly glad that Castiel managed to diffuse a situation that the angel hadn’t even realised was awkward.

The group dispersed to put the finishing touches on their preparations. 

There was an hour until the carnival closed for the night and it was a forty minute drive to the carnival from town so they would be leaving soon.

As everyone left the room Dean walked to Mariangela and clapped a hand on her shoulder.

‘You sure you’re going to be comfortable in the fighting? I know you Seraphim are all peace and love right?’ he asked.

Mariangela allowed the angel blade to slide from her sleeve and into her hand. It felt comfortable in her palm and Dean could see how she held it naturally.

Dean felt his doubts slip away. Mariangela is still an angel after all, a divine being. She had an advantage over the hunters with her heavenly powers. Castiel’s and his own doubts were for naught. She’d be fine in the hunt.

As if no time has passed at all Sam and Dean found themselves driving to the carnival with the two angels in the backseat.

There wasn’t much conversation between the brothers as Sam silently mouthed as many exorcisms as he could remember, unaware that Dean, in the driver’s seat, was attempting to remember the words to the exorcism he had been learning off by heart too.

The angels in the backseat ware sitting closely to each other as usual. Their fingers ware intertwined which was a seemingly new advancement in their strange intimacy. Mariangela’s expression was her usual serene face but Castiel still looked a little displeased. It was understandable that he wanted to protect Mariangela but she was needed in the fight.

Dean silently thought that, even if Mariangela had been unwilling to fight, she may have been made to anyway. Her angelic power and speed were an added skill their team badly needed to stand a chance against the demons.  He was glad that was an argument they had avoided.

Once everyone had arrived at the carnival no one was in the mood for conversation. A tense silence filled the area.

Finally the last car arrived. Headlights dimmed so as not to attract attention. It was Bobby’s.

Once all the hunters had unloaded themselves from his crappy car it was time to get down to business.

Bobby gave the gesture needed to start the approach and the hunt began.


	39. Chapter 39

The hunters entered the carnival under the cover of darkness. Aware that they didn’t really have the element of surprise their aim was to remain unnoticed for as long as possible.

Two demons were standing guard at the front gates. They were disposed of quickly with successful exorcisms and minimal struggling. It was a good start. Unwilling to waste any time, the hunters did not wait for the now freed vessels to regain consciousness, instead they left them lying on the ground and made their way through the front gates. They swiftly broke into their smaller groups and headed off in various directions.

Bobby hoped to hell that the blueprints he had managed to get of the carnival were accurate.

Bobby, Sam, Dean and Mariangela wasted no time in following through with their plans, running towards the largest tent in the carnival. Although they had not seemed to have raised any alarms in silencing the guards at the carnivals entrance, it became clear that this was not a surprise attack. There were demons everywhere. At every turn there seemed to be more and more demons. It appeared never ending. All the team could do was to attempt to exorcise as many demons as they could whilst making their way to the largest tent.

All of a sudden the group were surrounded by demons. It happened in the blink of an eye. The demons that surrounded them seemed set on attacking the humans, who they evidently viewed to be the weaker targets. But Bobby, Sam and Dean were not as weak as the demons had anticipated and they easily made their way through the demons, knocking them unconscious and exorcising the demons from the vessel.

Finally Mariangela’s time to shine came when a demon attempted to sneak up behind her. Sensing him before he could attack her, she spun around quickly, using the demon’s momentary start of terror when he realised he a picked a fight with an Angel of the Lord, and not a feeble human, as an opportunity to place her fingers onto his forehead and forcefully expel the demon from its vessel. The vessel fell to the ground. A neat little trick she had learnt from Castiel. It proved strongly effective.

Sam and Dean stopped a moment to admire how skilfully Mariangela took advantage of her opponent’s opening and used it as an opportunity to save the vessel. Sam knelt to check the vessel’s pulse. He nodded. They would be alright. Mariangela smiled.  She was happy she had managed to save a life.  She looked to Sam and Dean to gauge their expression to see if she had done well.

Her eyes widened.

There were two demons behind the brothers, approaching quickly. Mariangela quickly appeared behind the demons and placed her hands to the back of their heads. The demons never knew what hit them. Bobby didn’t even have a chance to raise his shotgun.

Dean smiled crookedly. He knew it was a good idea bringing two angels along with them. Mariangela was kicking ass and she hadn’t even drawn her Angel Blade yet.

Glancing at the unconscious bodies on the ground Sam identified the now empty vessels as a number of the thirteen men who had gone missing the night before. But the group didn’t have long to discuss it as they were ambushed by a single demon. It ran towards the group, evidently attracted by the noise of the fighting. Having gained a little confidence Mariangela stepped forward, in front of the hunters and placed her hand on the demon’s head.

Nothing happened.

The demon laughed, ‘Not so easy to get rid of me, is it, Angel? Maybe you should take a look at this?’

The demon ripped open his shirt. There was a large mark covering his chest. It was some sort of sigil, branded into his skin, directly over his heart. It looked red and angry. Obviously a fresh wound.

‘Pretty isn’t it, Angel?’ the demon said, his tone was mocking, ‘A sigil meaning that my vessel and I are one. And as you can see, it’s placed over my heart so that if you try to break it you’ll kill this vessel. And we don’t want that now, do we?’

Given time there had to be a way to break the sigil. There was always a way.

But there was no time.

‘Son of a bitch,’ Dean swore.

The demon began laughing again, confident that he had outsmarted the angel and the hunters. But Dean had grown tired of the demons gloating. He raised his sawn-off shotgun and shot the demon right in the heart. It fell to the ground, mocking smile frozen in place.

Mari was a little shocked but the noise of the firearm, jumping back a little in shock, but she recovered quickly, stepping over to the corpse, arm outstretched as if to heal the body.

‘Hey, Mari, don’t try and heal the vessel. There’s a chance you’ll heal the demon too, we can’t risk it.’ Sam said quickly, in an attempt to stop her. He touched her arm. His eyes softened when she froze, ‘I’m sorry.’

Mariangela looked sad, but she allowed her hand to fall back to her side. She looked at the body on the ground mournfully. But there would be time for regret later.

They had to move on.

It seemed that the demon Dean had shot was not the only demon to have been branded with a binding sigil. All the demons which Sam, Dean, Bobby and Mariangela encountered, with the exception of those who had been taken last night, were bound to their vessels. It seemed that once again, the demons were one step ahead of the hunters.

Sam used his walkie-talkie to convey this information to all the hunters around the carnival. He received affirmative replies; other hunters had noticed this too. The search continued but with a little more caution. The mission was revised. Save who you can, kill who you must.

Despite the fact Mariangela knew the demons she encountered were bound to the vessels it seemed to be instinct to attempt to remove the demons carefully. But it was never successful. Demon and Helpless Vessel had to be destroyed.

Even though there was nothing Mariangela could do, it was clear that she was getting distressed from her inability to help. Sam and Dean would have loved to have stopped for a moment, give her words of comfort and support, aid her in some way, but there were more pressing matters at hand. Bobby hurried them onwards.

As the various groups of hunters tried to make their way through their respective areas of the carnival it became clear that there was far more demons than they had first anticipated. Not only were the hunters more underprepared than they thought, they were also far more outnumbered. Whilst making their way towards the largest tent Bobby, Sam, Dean and Mariangela encountered two dead hunters as well as a number of seriously injured ones. The demon death count was growing but it wasn’t coming without casualties on the hunter’s side too.

‘What the hell angel? I tried praying to you and you didn’t show up,’ said one grievously injured and still somewhat bad tempered, hunter. ‘A whole lot of good you are!’

He coughed painfully, spitting blood carelessly onto the ground.  Despite his injuries his grip on his gun was steady. Still prepared to put up a fight.

Mariangela looked confused she had not heard their prayers. But there was no time to ponder why. Instead she healed who she could, and those too injured to carry on she teleported out of the area and back to the safety of the motel for treatment from the hunters who had remained behind.

As every group of hunters had completed their respective areas and made their way to the tent the number waiting in the darkness slowly grew. Waiting outside the tent until everyone else had arrived was agony. Everyone would have been more comfortable bursting in gung-ho, but their plan so far had been working and no one was in a hurry to find out what lay inside the tent.

The number of hunters severely injured unfortunately was far more than they would have liked. Around half of the hunters were too injured to go on and at least seven were dead. Mariangela had moved as many bodies as she could, healed as many as she could and aided as many as she could. Nevertheless she still received angry glares in the darkness from hunters who felt she had deliberately ignored their prayers.

As groups trickled in the collective hunters could fully take in the extent of their injuries. Many hunters were concealing the extent of their injuries, stubborn to the bone and unwilling to admit that they would be more of a hindrance than assistance. Others were weary from fighting a seemingly never ending parade of demons.

At last, the final group arrived in front of the largest tent. It was Castiel’s group, complete with the three cocky hunters he had been grouped with. All were unscathed. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that it was mostly due to Castiel’s help.

Castiel and Mariangela teleported anymore hunters who were too injured to continue in the hunt back to the motel. Once they were all safely in the motel rooms the angels returned. There was a truly abysmal amount of hunters remaining. Sam, Dean and Bobby and the three hunters of Castiel’s team were the only hunters which remained. The two angels brought the group up to eight.

It really had been a suicide mission. Grossly outnumbered by demons, the hunters had found themselves hesitant to fight back when they found out the demons were not bound to their vessels. They had not wished to destroy the human life that the demons had taken control of. It had resulted in many getting injured.

Moving onto the next step of the plan, the remaining hunters quickly began stripping the large tent of sigils which would prevent the angels from entering. There were many sigils to remove on the tent. It would have taken too long to remove all of them. There were hundreds, if not thousands of various overlapping sigils. So in an effort to save time Castiel pointed out those the hunters needed to remove in order to allow the angels to enter. The other sigils could just remain untouched.

There was a set of symbols that seemed to confuse Castiel but he merely looked a little uncomfortable and continued to point out all the sigils to be destroyed. Mariangela noticed them too and she pointed to them. Castiel nodded but there was too little time to discuss it.  

Once all the Enochian sigils were destroyed it was time for the angels and the hunters to enter the tent.

Before they had an opportunity to enter the tent however the angels and hunters were ambushed by another group of demons. They had used the cover of darkness and the distraction of destroying the sigils to sneak up on the hunters.

They, unlike most of the other demons, went straight for the strongest threat in the group.

Castiel.

In the blink of an eye Castiel was surrounded by Demons, the sheer number of which almost made him disappear from sight. Unlike the other demons they had been dealing with, it was clear that these demons knew the true strength of the angel.

There was a blur of movement as Mariangela, who had previously hesitated, rushed forward, blade falling smoothly into her hand for the first time in the hunt. She ruthlessly begins to dispose of the demons that had crowded Castiel, striking them straight through the branded sigil on their heart, killing them in one strike, without hesitation. Mariangela’s attack had given Castiel an opportunity to draw his own Angel Blade, he finished the rest of the demons by himself, barely ruffling his trench coat.

Once the angels stepped aside from the pile of demon bodies there was a gentle laugh, like the tinkling of silver bells. The hunters and the angels snapped their head to the tent’s entrance.

A figure stood silhouetted in pale light.


	40. Chapter 40

The figure which had appeared at the door of the tent was only visible for a second. In a blink and they were gone. But they had definitely been there.

This wasn’t a figment of anyone’s fear-filled imagination.

‘Balls’, murmured Bobby.

It was a sentiment that the other hunters shared.

The hunters and angels looked around quickly to ensure they were not about to be attacked. But there was no one there.

Where had the figure gone?

With no one currently engaged in a fight against the demons an unearthly silence filled the air. It was a loaded silence, poised with anticipation and heightened by adrenaline.

‘We have to go into the tent,’ Sam said, breaking the silence. ‘The tent is the only place they could have gone.’

As if unwilling to break the silence the other hunters merely nodded.

The hunters and the angels stepped into the tent cautiously. Weapons were raised. They were prepared to fight.

They were not prepared to see the figure they had seen moments ago sitting in the centre of the tent in a silver throne, lounging idly, as if waiting for the hunters and angels to arrive.

Upon closer inspection the figure was that of a woman, a beautiful woman. She was wearing an elegant gown, blood red and covered in fine embroidery. She smiled when the hunter and angels entered the room, but it wasn’t a friendly smile. It was the grin of a serpent before its prey, of an executioner before his victim.

Her eyes were cold.

‘Who are you?’ she asked curtly.

‘We’re your worst goddamn nightmare,’ said the youngest of the hunters on Castiel’s team.

‘Oh? How charming.’

The woman in the chair dismissively waved a hand. The hunter was flung across the tent, hitting a tent pole and falling to the ground in a heap. It was hard to have missed the cracking of bones and the unnatural position the hunter now lay in.

Sam flinched at the noise.

The other two hunters from Castiel’s group swore loudly, raising their guns, ready to fire, but the woman merely repeated the movement, flinging the hunters across the room as if they were naught more than rag dolls. She evidently aimed to fling Sam, Dean and Bobby along with the other hunters. She waved her hand once more dismissively but and Castiel and Mariangela shielded them with their open arms. Apparently negating the woman’s attempt to harm the hunters, or what was left of them.

They were the last hunters standing. Not a comforting thought.

‘Who are you?’ repeated the woman in the chair. It wasn’t annoyance coloured the woman’s tone, it was simple curiosity, a word of chastisement before swatting the spider with the rolled up newspaper. She didn’t care who they were. She was going to kill them anyway.

‘Hunters,’ replied Bobby gruffly, seeing no other option but to answer the mysterious woman.

‘Ah, hunters, it has been a while since I encountered a hunter.’

‘With a pretty face and powers like that, I doubt it’s been that long since you’ve seen a hunter.’ Bobby said cautiously, playing for time.

‘I am older than you, hunter. But it could shock you what a little magic can do,’ the woman said, seemingly flattered by Bobby’s comment.

‘Ain’t that the understatement of the century,’ said Bobby under his breath. The woman seemed to hear him, she laughed, a sweet sound which was alien in the tense situation before them.

The laughter stopped suddenly.

The hunters couldn’t help but flinch at the sudden silence.

‘Witches are always overlooked by humans and the supernatural,’ said the woman before them. She spoke as if she had forgotten their presence, or as if they were so insignificant that it didn’t matter if they were there in the first place. ‘We do not belong. We have a foot in both worlds and are desired in neither. Well that is a foolish decision. It is witches with the ultimate powers.’

Bobby, Sam and Dean did not know what to do. The angels still stood before them, arms outstretched, the only protection between them and the witch. The guns in the hunter’s hands felt useless. Their nerves were on a knife’s edge.

‘What, no response hunter? Do you not believe me?’ asked the witch, mockingly.

Bobby didn’t reply, but it didn’t seem to matter.

‘I am old, hunters. I am older than you think and older than you can understand. For hundreds of years I have been perfecting my carnival, this tent, adding sigils and symbol, spell and curse all so I can achieve the ultimate goal. Eternal life.’

‘But how?’ asked Sam, the question slipping out unintentionally.

The witch laughed once again, it didn’t seem like silver bells anymore, more like funeral chimes.

It was scaring Sam how casually the witch was telling the hunters and the angels everything. In his experience the bad guys didn’t let people in on their evil genius plan unless they were completely sure that they would no longer pose a threat. Did the witch even see them as a threat?

‘By gaining control,’ she said, ‘this tent protects my soul. No demon can enter and barter for it, no angel can redeem it, and no reaper can claim it. Theses demonic slaves protect me and serve me. They keep away humans and angels and reapers and any threat to me. I cannot die if they cannot take my soul. Magic easily preserves my body.’

Dean didn’t know a lot about witches but he knew one thing, this witch was insane. Like give her a straight-jacket, lock her up and throw away the key insane. The amount of life she had ended just to preserve her own life was repulsive. It made Dean want to kill her with his own bare hands.

Seemingly reading Dean’s mind, Castiel turned around to him shaking his head slowly, warning Dean not to. Castiel was right. The witch couldn’t have lived this long without learning a trick or two.

The witch ignored the exchange between Dean and Castiel, instead standing up from her silver throne and smoothing her dress carefully. She walked towards the group with a careless ease. She smirked as she saw Castiel and Mariangela visibly tense for any oncoming attacks.

The witch stepped up to the angels, no fear on her face that they may attack. She was entirely confident in her own strength. It was no surprise to the hunters how she had gotten such an army of demons under her control.

She held out a hand and gently stroked Mariangela’s face. Mariangela flinched at the unwanted contact, but the witch did not stop.

‘Seraph,’ the witch murmured, ‘it has been too long. I had feared my demons got bored and disposed of you before I could do it myself. Yet here you are.’

The witch’s smiled at Mariangela. The expression could have been interpreted as kindly if her eyes weren’t  filled with malice.

Mariangela shook her head violently, she didn’t know this woman. She had never seen her before.

‘Oh,’ said the witch, pouting. ‘Have you forgotten me already? Of course, I was pretty thorough. One must never take torturing a True Form lightly. I wanted to question you, find out how I may bring an angel under my control. You were silent but not from choice. I thought you were being strong, but it turned out you were the weakest of them all. It’s a shame you were so useless. But you were feisty, I’ll give you that. You blinded a number of my demons. I had to punish you for that. I’m not surprised you can’t remember really. I would have wanted to forget if I had went through what you went through. _You don’t want to remember the things I did to you_.’

The witch continued caressing Mariangela’s face gently, like a lover. Mariangela looked like she wished to escape, be anywhere but under the witches hands, but she could not move, if she moved the hunters would be vulnerable.  Castiel’s fists clenched tightly at the witches words and caresses but he made no movement towards the witch. The gesture attracted her attention.

‘Oh, who is this? It’s another angel. Is he your bodyguard, Seraph? These hunters must be your playthings.’

Mariangela was silent. Her eyes were ablaze with fury.

The witch laughed.

‘Believe it or not, you’re not the only angel I have had over the centuries. I’ve learnt a few things. It would be wise not to anger me.’

There was venom behind every word the witch spoke.

Sam frowned. Perhaps he could turn the tables. The witch seemed to have quite a temper, and perhaps he could provoke her into making a mistake or gain the upper hand somehow.

‘You mustn’t have gotten your hands on too many angels though. If you did surely you would have gotten an angel under your control by now. Or are they just a little too hard for you to handle?’ Sam scoffed.

Dean picked up Sam’s tactic and joined in. Laughing at what his brother had just said.

It was a tactic which backfired, serving only to anger the witch. She took her hand from Mariangela’s face and took a step back. She pointed at Mariangela and Castiel who both collapsed onto the ground.

If she were able, Mariangela would have been screaming, tears streaming down her face, begging for an end to the pain she was experiencing. But she was silent, in mute agony.

Castiel still had a voice and was unsuccessfully stifling screams through clenched teeth. Lip bleeding as he stifled the noises of desperation. A strange sigil had been burned into their skin. A large mark covering their chests, much like that found on the demons. The hunters were unsure if the invisible branding of the sigil was what caused the angels pain or if there was additional agony being inflicted on top of it all.

It needn’t have been explained what she had done, but the witch did regardless.

‘These angels are now one with their vessels. They will feel their vessels pain, bleed their vessels blood and die their vessels death. A hurricane trapped within a shoebox. I take it you saw my demons outside. They faced a similar treatment.’

As if the non-magically healing injuries which were causing blood to rush from their freshly cut chest sigils hadn’t been enough to tell the hunters that they were bound, the witch had to brag about it.

This was bad. As the least experienced member of the group, Mariangela was now the most vulnerable she had even been, trapped within a mortal shell and unable to heal any injuries she would sustain. The witch had secured the upper hand. Not that it had ever been in any doubt.

Castiel was bound too but he had the experience to fight and protect himself until they could break the sigils. There was countless ways for one to break a sigil if given time.

Time they didn’t have.

No longer willing to stand around and play the awkward waiting game Sam, Dean and Bobby exchanged a knowing look and rushed towards the witch, past the angels who were still writhing on the floor. The witch merely raised a hand, making the hunters halt, frozen in place. She held her hand still, as if to physically hold the men still.

Castiel managed to conquer his agony for a second, looking up from the ground, raising his Angel Blade and throwing it at the witch. The witch may have been old and powerful but she was not immune to injury.  The blade embedded in her arm, which she dropped instantly, screaming loudly in pain. The men were freed when the witches arm dropped.

‘I have seen your type before, angel,’ the witch shrieked, pulling the Angel Blade from her arm. ‘Warrior Angels. Not the most powerful of angels, no, but you’re so damn loyal, so damn determined. You’re always the last to break and spill secrets. I know a few ways to deal with your impudence. Perhaps I need to teach you a lesson or two?’

Suddenly Castiel found he couldn’t move. The witch was walking slowly towards him.

Frozen in his attempts to stand up, blood still pooling freely from his chest, Castiel was unable to defend himself.

He was at the witch’s mercy.


	41. Chapter 41

‘This is a particularly nasty spell I learnt a few centuries ago. I encountered an angel who had fallen to earth when my carnival was in Germany. He was a warrior too. But what was his name? Oh, I don’t know. The encounters blur into one another after a while,’ the witch said conversationally. Her arm was raised towards Castiel, as if preparing to cast a spell. ‘I’m just lucky that Seraphim and Cherubim don’t have names to remember or I would be well and truly confused. This angel was particularly chatty though. Perhaps he thought I would spare him. Fool.’

‘You monster,’ Castiel growled through clenched teeth. His body paralysed by the witch.

The witch merely laughed as she walked closer to him. Castiel could not move away. He watched her walk towards him with venom in his eyes.

With the witches arm raised, poised to attack and with magic at her fingertips, the hunters were too cautious to make any moves. It could mean disaster. Mariangela looked as if she may faint, her face pale, her eyes wide, filled with terror.

She was as frozen as Castiel, only without the aid of a witches spell.

The witch toyed with Castiel, stroking his face tenderly with her free hand. His face became speckled with the witch’s blood which was streaming down her arm from the injury he had caused by the Angel Blade just moments ago. The witch seemed unconcerned about her injury. Whilst caressing Castiel’s face, the witch leant down and whispered into his ear softy. No one could hear what she had said to him but it couldn’t have been anything comforting. Castiel paled.

‘Isn’t it a pity,’ the witch said as she stopped caressing Castiel’s face, seemingly pleased with his reaction and stood up straight once again, ‘I shan’t have as much time to play with you as I wish. I could have had a lot of fun with you, warrior. But this spell will make up for it.’

The witch looked to the hunters standing in front of her, she raised her injured arm to them and they were frozen in place once more.

‘I don’t want you to interfere,’ she said with an all too knowing tone.

The witch then looked at Mariangela, who stood frozen in terror, ‘And you won’t be going anywhere will you?’ she asked.

Mariangela shook her head frantically, eager to get the witches attention away from her.

‘Good Seraph, keep that promise or you shall be next,’ the witch said.

It was said in the tone of a promise, not a threat.

Mariangela cowered from the witch.

The witch turned back to the hunters, ‘I’ve told your warrior angel here what my spell can do, but it’s just not fair if I keep it a secret. It’s a spell which will force an angel to show its True Form to the world. The angel uncontrollably forces itself out of its vessel, burning the vessel out in the process. So very messy. And painful too, judging by the screams. And isn’t it just such a pity that this little warrior here is bound to his vessel?’

With Castiel paralysed there was no way for him to defend himself. Bobby, Sam and Dean struggled against the spell which had frozen them, but to no avail. Everyone was powerless against the witch. She was a culmination of witches magic, centuries old and the extra power her demon cannon fodder offered her. She was supremely powerful.  The team were in over their heads.

The witch placed her hands before Castiel, only a few feet separated the angel and the witches outstretched hands. She inhaled a breath, pushing forward to cast the spell. To touch Castiel and burn him from his bound vessel.

All too aware of what was about to happen Castiel watched the witch raise her hands and begin to push them slowly forward. It was as if, for some cruel joke, time had slowed so that he could experience everything with a perfect clarity.

Castiel found that he couldn’t close his eyes. He wanted to see the witch touch him.

He would stare death in the face.

But there came the noise of fluttering and before the witch’s hands finally touched Castiel they came in contact with something unexpected.

Mariangela.

She had appeared in front of Castiel, Angel Blade in hand.

In her ultimate act of protection the spell came in contact with Mariangela, not Castiel.

She fell instantly to the ground.

The witch screamed with frustration, her hold on Castiel snapping momentarily.

He was free.

Big mistake.

Castiel stood up, eyes widening as he saw Mariangela fall to the floor.

Then his eyes grew cold.

Castiel didn’t hesitate, he snatched the Angel Blade from Mariangela’s hand, stepping over her prone form and slashing the witch’s throat without so much as blinking. Her eyes widened as she laughed maniacally.

‘I am eternal here you fool. Death has no place in this tent,’ the witch rasped, hands clutching her bleeding throat.

Castiel did not seem to hear her as he grabbed her arms and teleported her out of the tent.

That quickly killed the smile on her face.

Bobby, Sam and Dean could see what was happening outside the tent through the open doors, although they were still frozen in place. They knew they should be worrying about Mariangela who was writing on the floor, being forced from her vessel but their attention was momentarily distracted by the screams of the witch.

It wasn’t visible to the human eye but the hunters knew that a horde of Reapers had to be descending, eager to collect a human’s soul which had avoided their grasps for so long. The screams were brought to a sudden halt and there was a thump as the witch’s lifeless body fell to the ground. Castiel didn’t even need to attack her again, the reapers were all too willing to aid in finishing the job.

When the screaming stopped the hunters found they could move again. They ran toward Mariangela but they quickly kept their distance when they saw her up close. She was not a pretty sight. Her skin was blackening from the extremities inwards as her body appeared to be burning itself up from an invisible force, charring her fingers and toes, slowing moving up her hands, feet, arms and legs. Although she was silent, the pain she must have been experiencing was more than clear. The acrid red light of the spell could be seen coursing through her body as well as occasional flickers of pure light. Her True Form rising to the surface.

‘As long as she remains in the tent she can’t die,’ said Dean cautiously.

‘We don’t know that, Dean.  What happens when an angel dies? Do reapers collect their souls too?’ asked Sam, he sounded as if he was choking back tears a little.

Bobby cleared his throat, as emotional a gesture as one could get from Bobby, ‘At the rate she’s burning up she may just… cease to be.’

The hunters stood above the angel, unsure what to do.

Castiel reappeared at the opening of the tent. He rushed over to Mariangela, who had curled into a ball on her stomach, as if physically trying to hold herself together.

Her skin looked as if it was straining.

‘Close your eyes!’ Castiel shouted as he saw her skin strain. He too closed his eyes.

Taking off his trench coat he threw it over Mariangela’s back.

Once it seemed safe to once again open their eyes, Bobby and the brothers looked at Mariangela, or what could be seen of her from underneath Castiel’s coat. Her small form seemed to be bulging and changing, what could only be wings were attempting to form.

Dean took a step forward to assist Castiel in any way he could but Castiel stood protectively in front of Mariangela.

‘Do not step any closer Dean. You are only human, unworthy to see a Seraph’s wings. Stand back!’ Castiel did not seem to be aware that he was yelling.

‘Hey. Hey, Okay buddy,’ Dean said, raising his hands defensively, taking a step back. It was an attempt the understandably tense situation

Castiel ignored him, instead turning to look at Mariangela. He took a slow breath. In. Out. He raised his head, glanced a final time at Mariangela and then teleported away.

‘What the hell Cass? You Son of a Bitch! Where are you?’ Dean shouted looking towards the sky. ‘Don’t leave! What are we supposed to do now? Help us!’

Bobby shook his head, placing a hand on Dean’s shoulder, ‘Hey son, put yourself in his shoes for a minute. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be here to see this.’

Dean was silent. Castiel hadn’t said anything before he disappeared, but there was no mistaking the tears which had formed in his eyes.

The hunters placed their focus back to Mariangela who had shifted the trench coat in her writhing. The trench coat had moved, shifting a little, revealing her body but still concealing her back and shoulders. The blackening had started to make its way towards Mariangela’s chest, covering the branded mark still bleeding over her heart. Her neck and shoulders were blackened as the charring made it way to her face. Her eyes had become cloudy and unfocussed. She reached out blindly for comfort.

Her blackened arms meant she could barely lift her hands.

Sam rushed forward, kneeling at Mariangela’s side and held her hand gently. She reared her back in pain. Even the softest of touches seemed to cause her agony. Sam let go of her hand instantly, horrified he had hurt her but she reached her hand out, not wishing for him to have let go.

Her frail movement had caused the trench coat to move a little more, Bobby looked around desperately, rushing to pick up some discarded tarp lying in the tent. He brought it back and placed it over Mariangela like a blanket to ensure her wings remained concealed from mortal eyes. If wings were part of Mariangela’s true form then they needed to remain covered. The hunters could not help Mariangela if they were blinded by her True Form.

Worried that Mariangela would convulse and injure herself Dean picked up the Angel’s Blade coated in the witch’s blood which had been discarded by Castiel beside Mariangela’s prone form. He held it loosely by his side.

No one knew quite what to do.

If only Castiel was there.

And as if by prayer Castiel reappeared.

But he did not come alone.

In his arms he held the unconscious body of a woman.

He said nothing but dropped the woman onto the ground unceremoniously next to where Sam and Mariangela were on the floor. When Sam saw Castiel had returned he stood up, gently removing his hand from Mariangela’s. He knew that Castiel could provide more comfort to Mariangela than he could.

Castiel allowed Sam to step back before he walked towards Mariangela, snatching the blade from Dean’s hand. He took a deep breath. It was an oddly human gesture.

It was clear he had a plan.

Castiel bent down and gently placed a hand to Mariangela’s cheek. He carefully helped her to turn over onto her back, a clearly uncomfortable position with her rapidly exposing wings. Castiel ensured that her body remained covered by the tarp.

It was a position which resulted in Mariangela’s back being curved. Her head was thrown back as she was unable to hold it up. It touched the floor. Her spine arched and her wings uncomfortably forced onto the ground. It was an unnatural position.

Castiel touched Mariangela’s cheek one final time before he stood up. It was a caress so different from that she had received earlier from the witch.

A loving caress.

An apology unsaid.

Without hesitation Castiel stabbed Mariangela in the heart.

There was a flash of red light mixed with white and it seemed Mariangela’s body began to burn up even faster.

Quickly Castiel thrust his hand into Mariangela’s chest.

‘Close your eyes!’ he shouted to the hunters.

Castiel released a burst of energy, the hunters were blasted backwards and the carnival tent was completely destroyed.

He ripped out the angel just in time before placing it into the unconscious woman beside him. The body of Mariangela burned up in a fiery smoke but there were no screams.

The vessel was dead the moment the blade had been plunged into her heart.


	42. Chapter 42

Castiel looked at the burnt body before him. Its back had been ripped to the bone. Its extremities crumbled from the intensity of it the burns. A truly hideous sight.

It was almost impossible to think of the crumbled remains as someone they once knew, someone once alive.

It was hard to think of them as human.

‘What the hell, Cass?’ Dean asked stepping towards Castiel, brow furrowed.

‘I needed to break the seal which bound the True Form to the vessel,’ Castiel said, his voice was quiet. ‘The only way to do that was if the vessel died so I disposed of the vessel. For the vessel to properly die, I had to destroy the tent.’

Dean was angry. Castiel had just killed an innocent human being. Dean could understand _what_ Castiel had done; he just couldn’t understand _why_ he had done, what he had done.

Killed Mariangela that is.

‘I thought you loved her, buddy?’ Dean asked gently.

Castiel looked confused, ‘I felt no attraction towards her whatsoever.’

It was Dean’s turn to look confused.

‘My feelings remain constant towards the Seraph no matter what vessel she inhabits.’ Castiel sounded mournful but Dean didn’t know why.

It seemed that the confusion in the air was contagious as Sam’s brow furrowed.

 ‘So you transferred the angel to this vessel?’ he asked, pointing to the figure lying on the ground seemingly undisturbed by the blast created when Castiel destroyed the tent.

‘That is correct,’ replied Castiel.

‘But we saw how badly Mari had reacted to being placed in an unsuitable vessel and she was only in there for like five minutes. Now you’ve destroyed her vessel surely she’ll have to return to heaven or something?’

Castiel shook her head, pointing to the unconscious vessel where the angel currently resided, ‘This vessel is a blood relation to the previous vessel. She will not reject the Seraph.’

Sam remembered that Mariangela had mentioned having a sister in a coma. This must have been said sister.

She was small and thin. She looked sickly, frail, and she was wearing a hospital gown. She looked a little like Mariangela. Or at least, one could see the family resemblance. Her hair was thicker and longer but the same wavy dark brown. Sam was sure that if she opened her eyes she would share her sister’s wide brown eyes.

Even lying unconscious on the ground she looked like a sleeping angel.

At peace.

Sam’s thoughts were quickly pulled from his musings when a Reaper appeared, seemingly from nowhere. Sam didn’t know how long the Reaper had been there, but only now did it choose to become corporeal. The hunters didn’t bother to raise their weapons when it appeared. There was no use. He wasn’t there for them.

The Reaper stood before the charred remains of Mariangela, solemn in its black suit, looking down at the body. The Reaper seemed unaffected by the sight of Mariangela’s charred and disfigured corpse. Something told Sam that, whilst this wasn’t an everyday occurrence for the Reaper, it had seen worse. The Reaper slowly moved its gaze, looking up from the body. Sam started. But the Reaper wasn’t looking at Sam.

Before them stood the spirit of Mariangela, the vessel.

Sam thought that she would have looked sad, upset or just plain pissed that she had died. She wouldn’t have been the first spirit to mourn her own passing and she certainly had a strong enough personality to lodge a complaint or two before she left. But she was smiling softly, looking at the hunters and Castiel.

‘That was one hell of a ride,’ she said.

Sam choked back a laugh that could just have easily have been a sob.

‘Come with me,’ said the Reaper, their voice reassuring. They held out their arm to Mariangela. She took it without hesitation, linking her own arm with the Reaper’s. She looked at the hunters one last time and winked playfully. Then she turned to Castiel and her face grew solemn.

Castiel’s face was like stone. Emotionless. Unhuman.

‘She likes you, you know?’ Mariangela said.

Castiel was silent. The mask of impassiveness did not falter. He remained unreadable.

Mariangela smiled knowingly at Castiel. She didn’t need the mask to slip to know the truth. The Reaper by her side appeared unwilling to wait any longer, they gently tugged her arm. Mariangela offered no resistance, she smiled and waved as the Reaper led her off to where the men could only hope was a better place.

The three men and the angel stood in a stunned silence for a moment as they took in the scene around them.

The tent, or what was left of it, looked like the remains of a nuclear blast, with nothing remaining but a charred circle of scorched earth, tattered and torn tent and some scattered debris. With some moans and groans the three hunters who had been injured by the witch seemed to be regaining consciousness. Concussed and sporting several broken bones it was clear that they had no recollection of the events which had just transpired. They seemed to have gained several injuries in the blast caused by Castiel too. Hit by shrapnel that had caused deep cuts in their skin, they would definitely require stitches.

Bobby, Sam and Dean were glad that Castiel had protected them from the blast he had caused whilst destroying the tent. In fact in a cruel irony the three hunters had made it through the battle pretty unscathed thanks to the shielding of Castiel and Mariangela. But it was a bittersweet thought that brought the hunters no comfort.

Bobby, Sam and Dean maintained their distance from Castiel, the body and the unconscious figure in the hospital gown. Castiel stood unmoving, tensed, as if expecting something to happen, waiting for something to happen. It felt like an eternity, the hunters and the angel standing unmoving, waiting. It was like the aftermath of an earthquake and the stillness that followed. It was the fear of moving lest an aftershock come and destroy it all again.

As if any sudden movement would cause some great catastrophe.

Then just like that, suddenly the unconscious figure beside the charred body wasn’t so unconscious anymore. She sat bolt upright, the sudden movement causing the hunters to jolt in shock.

The Seraph was awake at last.  

She seemed to be a little confused and disorientated, understandably. Once she regained her bearings she looked around cautiously. Her sights fell upon the corpse beside her. She stared, confused.

She looked at her hands.

They were smaller than they used to be.

Not the hands she had become accustomed to.

Something had happened.

She crawled over to the body, closing the small distance between her and her dead vessel. She picked it up gently, careful not to damage it any more. She cradled its head in her arms. Her body convulsed as she wept openly and silent. Like a mother witnessing the death of her child.

Still weeping she looked up to the figure standing over her, it was Castiel. She tugged his jacket arm and he fell to his knees beside her, his head bowed. He knelt over and picked up his trench coat which had miraculously survived the blast bearing nothing more than a lot of dirt and a hell of a lot more blood. Castiel gently placed the trench coat over the corpse, the Seraph delicately adjusting it so it covered the body more fully.

A death with dignity.

Like there existed such a thing.

After her period of silent mourning Mariangela stood up and shakily walked towards the three hunters who were still standing at a distance. She looked exhausted but regardless placed her hands upon their chests and healed their injuries. She turned around when she heard the flutter of wings, but Castiel had gone. He left no explanation. Only his trench coat and the charred corpse it covered like a blanket. The Seraph looked saddened and confused by Castiel’s sudden disappearance but the time for mourning was over.

‘Mari… Um, we need to go, cops are going to be showing up, probably soon too,’ Sam said, his voice soft but insistent. He stepped forward and gently touched her elbow to attract her attention. ‘We need to get these other hunters back to Bobby’s car and get out of here as soon as we can.’

Mariangela did as she was told, walking over to the injured hunters and teleporting them to Bobby’s car, returning immediately after. Dean did not miss her gaze flicker around the tent, still looking for Castiel.

Dean knew that Castiel wouldn’t be returning.

‘We need to jump the scene,’ Dean said, ‘Come on. Mari, you need to come with me and Sammy. Ride home with us. You can’t stay here.’

Once again Mariangela offered no resistance but slowly walked over to the corpse of her charred vessel and picked up the trench coat Castiel had placed over her.

Mariangela folded it carefully in her arms.

She couldn’t leave it behind too.


	43. Chapter 43

It felt almost anti-climactic, finally talking down the carnival. It had all come down to one crazy-ass witch who had never even taken the time to give the hunters her name. Before they knew it Bobby and the Winchesters were back at the scrapyard, dumping their heavy bags in Bobby’s hall, opening some cold beers and resting their weary heads and aching bones.

They had wished to leave the motel as quickly as possible, so had all the other hunters. Some returned home, others were brought to hospitals to treat their wounds. Bobby and the Winchesters had packed hurriedly, guided Mariangela to the car and left town within the hour.

The three were silent in their exhaustion, emotionally torn. They were unsure whether or not they should be mourning the death of Mariangela. Not whenever the Seraph who had inhabited the body was still sitting unmoving in the Impala.

They hadn’t known her personally, but it seemed odd not to be mourning the woman they had seen every day for the past few months.

It was just as odd to see Mariangela in a new vessel.

She was a familiar presence with a stranger’s face.

Bobby and the boys were unsure whether or not they should still call her Mariangela, but they didn’t have anything else to call her. It seemed cruelly impersonal to return to calling her ‘The Seraph’.

But Mariangela didn’t seem to be present in the Winchester’s conversations whilst in the car. She spent the whole journey in her usual silence, her eyes distant, Castiel’s dirt and blood soaked trench coat placed carefully on her lap. Any questions sent her direction were either being ignored or simply not heard. Something had changed within her. Sam and Dean were in no hurry to urge her to co-operate. They had seen first-hand what she had been subjected to during the fight against the witch. That wasn’t something one just walked away from.

If the brothers had thought for a second that leaving town would leave behind the bad memories and the grief of a death they were fools. The journey home had just given them time to replay events in their mind, to relive every moment in a glorious technicolour. It was hard to know exactly what an angel was thinking, but Sam and Dean were in no hurry to know what was going on in the Seraph’s mind.

Unwilling to pull her from her thoughts Sam and Dean had allowed the angel to stay in their car, even when they had returned to Bobby’s. She could work the car doors and she could teleport if necessary but she remained exactly where she was. Like a china doll placed on a shelf, she was unmoving and fragile. Or at least she looked fragile.

The hunters could not decide if that was due to her emotional state or her previously hospitalised vessel. 

Three days passed and eventually Dean and Sam were cajoled by Bobby into making Mariangela get out of the Impala.

‘She can’t stay in there forever boys. Get her out of your damn car,’ Bobby had groused as he looked out his window at the Impala and its remaining passenger.

Dean stepped up to the plate.

He drained the last of his coffee and placed his mug in the sink. Stepping out of Bobby’s house he felt the wave of heat hit from the mid-day sun. Walking towards the car his brain idly reflected that any human sitting in a car in that heat wouldn’t be feeling great. A sleek metal car, especially one that was black, was like an oven in the sun.

Peeking in the window Dean could see that Mariangela looked unaffected by the heat.

‘Hey, Buddy,’ Dean said slowly. He opened the car door and crouched to speak to Mariangela. As if he was approaching a scared wild animal, every movement was slow.

‘You’ve been in my car for a while now. Do you want to come inside?’

She didn’t seem to hear him.

Dean repeated the question. There was still no answer.

Dean asked Mariangela four more times if she wanted to come into Bobby’s house but she didn’t seem to hear him.  Then he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She snapped back to reality as violently as if she had been burned.

‘Hey Mari,’ Dean said gently. ‘Let’s go inside, yeah? Will you come inside?’

Dean didn’t expect her to react, after all she had failed to react the previous times, but this time she climbed out of the car slowly. Castiel’s trench coat remained cradled in her arms.

She walked into the house slowly, just as she had been asked to do and stood in her familiar corner where she and Castiel would often spend their time. There she stood, motionless, with Castiel’s trench coat in her arms, like some sort of comfort blanket. Her eyes remained open but un-seeing and to be perfectly honest Sam and Dean were starting to get a little creeped out.

In the following days Mariangela remained entirely still. The only exception was the rare times she would hear the ruffle of bird wings, wherein she would snap her violently to the source of the sound, then disappointed that it was not followed by the arrival of an angel, she would return to her original position.

Eventually, five days after the events at the carnival took place Bobby stopped biting his tongue, his temper fraying.

‘Sam, Dean,’ he called, summoning the brothers. ‘Boys I’ve waited long enough. You two need to pull your finger out and get that damn angel over here.’

‘She’s in the room, like she always is. You don’t need to go too far to find her.’ Dean said, dryly. But he knew what Bobby meant.

‘Don’t sass me boy. Stupidity and sarcasm don’t mix.’ Bobby narrowed his eyes. ‘I’m talking about Castiel, the angel who has been conspicuously absent since the carnival tent. The same damn son of a bitch that our resident Seraph has been moping over.’

Sam finally pieced it together, ‘Oh!’ he said.

‘Wanna share with the class Sammy?’ Dean asked, irritated that he appeared to be the only one who didn’t understand.

‘Well, Mari… She’s missing Cass. I thought she was scarred from almost being killed, but I suppose this makes more sense.’

‘Oh!’ said Dean, echoing his brother’s previous statement.

It was obvious that the angels had been holding a torch for each other, a torch so damn huge that the Statue of Liberty would be jealous.

‘So, what now? Cass is AWOL and we build Mari a widow’s walk?’ Dean asked.

‘I don’t know, maybe we should figure out what went wrong?’ Sam guessed.

‘Right,’ said Bobby.              

Silence fell in the trio. It became painfully obvious, painfully quickly, that the three men weren’t privy to the inner psychological workings of the gentler sex.

Nor the inner workings of angels.

‘I think I’d be easier to just ask one of the angels what the hell’s going on,’ Dean said breaking the silence. ‘It’ll save us some time.’

‘Mari is proving … non-cooperative at the moment Dean,’ Sam said. He struggled to find the right word to describe Mariangela’s general malaise.

‘Well then, the only thing to do was get in contact with the other angel causing the damn problems,’ Dean said decidedly.

‘A prayer or two might work,’ Bobby supplied.

The brother’s nodded.

‘After you Dean,’ Sam said to his brother.

After all, Castiel was more likely to respond to Dean than he was to Sam.

Dean cleared his throat awkwardly. He was unsure what to say.

‘Hey Cass,’ Dean said stiltedly. ‘We’re having a little trouble here, Buddy. It’d sure be helpful if you paid us a visit.’

The brief prayer received no reply.

In fact two days of frequent prayers at all times of the day still elicited no response.

‘I don’t think it’s likely he’ll show up on the scrapyard or the house when he knows that Mari is going to be here,’ Bobby said eventually, ‘we’re going to need to trick him.’

‘Say no more,’ said Dean.

Castiel could be easily fooled.


	44. Chapter 44

The graveyard would have been creepy even in the middle of the day. Full of old gravestones and weather-beaten statues, it looked like something straight out of a horror movie or an old slasher flick. Even the beautiful purple and pinks of the evening sky did nothing to detract from how unsettling the atmosphere was.

Dean stood awkwardly in the middle of the graveyard, trying as hard as he could to not think about how great it would be in a _Night of the Living Dead_ remake.

He was alone. He had carefully checked out the entire graveyard just to make sure, then he had double checked. He hadn’t wanted any interruptions. But that didn’t stop his ears picking up every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig, every gust of air and his brain interpreting them as a potential presence.

Sick of his nerves resting on a knife’s edge Dean decided to get down to business.

‘Uh, Cass?’ was the eloquent phrase Dean chose to begin his prayer. ‘I don’t know what’s going on here, Buddy, but you need to come here quick. Something bad is going down.’

Dean waited, but there was no answer.

Hesitantly Dean tried again, eager to get out of the damn creepy cemetery, he wasn’t a wimp, but this place seriously gave him the heebie-jeebies.

‘I don’t know man. It’s really dangerous right now. We need your help,’ Dean said aloud, feeling like an idiot. He allowed some of his discomfort at his environment to seep into his tone. ‘It’s Mari s-‘

Dean’s words were cut off by the ruffle of feathery wings.

Castiel stood before him, Angel Blade raised, poised to attack.

Castiel looked around quickly, search for any immediate or approaching dangers. His eyes were filled with a violent intensity and focus. Dean put his hands up in a peaceful gesture. Taking in Dean’s relaxed countenance Castiel grew confused. He lowered his Angel Blade.

‘Why have you called me here Dean? You have no legitimate reason to have done so.’ Castiel said angrily.

Dean noticed that whilst Castiel appeared to have changed his shirt there was some fresh blood covering his chest. The sigil which had been carved into his skin was still there, still a large gaping hole. It wasn’t bleeding as profusely anymore but it did not appear to be healing. Dean rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and considered how to approach the subject.

‘It’s to do with Mari-’

Castiel immediately looked alarmed, then bombarded Dean with rapid-fire questions. ‘What has happened? Was she rejected from her new vessel? Did the binding sigil transfer her to the new vessel correctly? Is she safe? Is she content? Does she-’

‘Hey. Hey, Cass, take a breath man. She’s fine. Physically. But emotionally, mentally she’s like a robot or something. She’s just standing there, disinterested in everything. I mean at first we thought she was all shaken up from the fight but it just didn’t seem too likely. We think she’s pining for you, Buddy.’

Castiel snorted, ‘Angels do not “pine” for one another, Dean. Angels are perfectly content on their own. We are primarily solitary. Reliance is not in our nature.’

Dean was a professional con-man, but he didn’t need those skills to hear the blatant lies coming from Castiel’s mouth. He leant against a nearby headstone and raised an eyebrow sceptically.

‘Well then you two angels must have a couple of screws in your head loose, because you are the Harry to her Sally.’

‘You know I don’t know what that means Dean.’

‘Look man, we’re friends. I’ve told you plenty of times about the women I’ve banged. You sure as hell can tell me about the girl you’re sweet on.’

Castiel frowned at Dean’s vulgarity but, after a brief moment’s hesitation, confided.

‘I am… not worthy of her.’

Dean didn’t understand, ‘what?’ he said. ‘She’s totally into you dude!’

Castiel shook his head, ‘I have done nothing but become a plague on her very existence. I am the reason she fell to earth. I caused her to destroy her vessel. Earth has proved itself time and time again to have been nothing but cruel to her. Because of me she has been tortured, abused, attacked, injured and subjected to acts that I would not even wish upon Raphael.’

Castiel was silent for a long time, but Dean knew he wasn’t finished. He shifted his position on the headstone a little to allow Castiel to lean against it too.

‘Then I did the worst thing of all.’ Castiel murmured, ‘I fell in love with her.’

Dean was interrupted before he could say anything.

‘How dare I subject her to such misery and then demand her affections?’ Castiel said, fuelled by a self-loathing anger. ‘She is much better off without me near her at all, so from now on I shall return to heaven. I will try to sort out this mess with Raphael.’

Castiel made a move as if to leave, as if to escape from the words that had just left his mouth but Dean grabbed his arm to hold him there.

‘Cass,’ Dean said, holding firmly onto the angels arm so he didn’t leave, ‘Maybe you feel that way, but Mari certainly doesn’t. There is no point beating yourself up about something that she’s never blamed you for.’

Castiel looked unconvinced but Dean kept pushing.

‘Come on man, come to Bobby’s. See her one last time before you decide to leave her side for good.’

Castiel pulled his arm from Dean’s grip.

‘Please Cass.’

Castiel looked defeated.

‘Fine.’


	45. Chapter 45

Castiel was in no real hurry to find himself in the company of the angel who had won over his affections. And whilst he wouldn’t admit it out loud, it was obvious to Dean that Castiel was worried about Mariangela’s reaction when she saw him again. After all, the last time she had seen Castiel they were standing beside the charred remains of her original vessel.

The vessel he had destroyed with her still inside.

In a bid to win a little more time before meeting Mariangela once again Castiel joined Dean in the Impala on the journey back, forgoing his usual flicker of wings and instantaneous teleportation. The journey was empty of conversation as Castiel sat silently laden in heavy thought. Not wishing to interrupt or intrude Dean was content to replace conversation with listening to some old tapes at a non-deafening level.

When Dean and Castiel arrived back at the house night had come and gone and morning had broken. It had taken longer than anticipated to make the journey and convince the angel. But they were here now.

Dean hoped it was not a wasted journey.

It seemed that the Mariangela’s absence of awareness about what was going on around her had extended to sensing other angels as well as she did not notice when Dean and Castiel entered the house.

So focussed on listening for the fluttering of wings, the house could have crumbled to a heap, been burned to its very foundation or been pulled apart brick by brick and Mariangela wouldn’t have been noticed.

She wouldn’t have cared.

Mariangela stood in exactly the same place she had been standing for days now, holding Castiel’s trench coat and looking forlorn. The door closed behind Dean with a loud thud but she didn’t bother to look at the source of the noise. Dean cleared his throat, a gesture that had worked a few times to gain her attention and she turned her head slowly, eyes dull.

When she saw Castiel in his blood-covered shirt her eyes were bright with interest. Her expression changed from night to day. Her presence, which had seemed so absent since the carnival rushed back in an instant.

Just as Castiel returned, so did Mariangela.

She looked surprised to see him, as if she had thought him gone forever. She took a second to just look at him. To just be in his presence once again before she walked over and gently handed him his trench coat.

It was still dusty and covered in blood.

Covered in his blood, her blood, the witch’s blood and demon’s blood.

So much blood.

By now it had dried, and faded to a dark brown, an almost black. It was a grim and strange reminder of the events that had happened a week ago.

Seemingly unaffected by the stains on his coat, Castiel gratefully accepted it and shrugged it back on without hesitation. Trench coat returned there was a moment of awkward stasis. However with a stilted movement Castiel stepped forward and carefully placed his arms around Mariangela. It was as if scared his touch would repulse her. As if he had expected her to break from his arms in disgust.

It was a hug of apology and a hug of farewell.

Castiel could not hide his surprise when Mariangela hugged him back fiercely, her arms gripping his back tightly. His eyes widened. After a moment Castiel allowed his arms to tighten around her as if he never wanted to let go.

Dean didn’t think they would.


	46. Chapter 46

Standing in Bobby’s mess of a study Castiel and Mariangela made quite a sight, in a war worn trench coat and a pale blue hospital gown, held tightly in each other’s arms.

Dean, who had instigated the moment, was never one for the chick-flick moments. He cleared his throat awkwardly and made his way hastily from the study, out into the scrapyard where he joined Sam and Bobby who were currently leaning over the exposed engine of one of Bobby’s old scrappers.

‘I found Cass,’ Dean said as he made his way over to the other men, ‘I brought him here. I hope things are going to get better. Cass was going to leave, but he’s not going to leave now.’

‘How can you be so sure?’ asked Sam. He had been concerned about the angels since Castiel had disappeared at the carnival. Seeing how Mariangela had been suffering everyday had only made Sam feel worse.

‘Don’t worry Sammy, I know when I’m right.’ Dean said confidently. ‘I just left the two lovebirds to have their _meet me at the airport, kiss and make up_ moment.’

‘Are angels really the kiss and make-up type?’ Sam asked with a trace of humour in his voice, ‘The only time I’ve even seen our angel kiss was when Cass accidently got the wrong end of the stick after watching … _The Pizza Man._ And that was just wrong to watch.’

Dean snorted as Sam pulled at face at the memory. Bobby chuckled a little too as he tinkered with the engine. He had heard this story too.

‘That’s true,’ Dean said, ‘I don’t think angels are the kissing type. There was Anna I suppose, but she was a bit of an exception. They probably do that thing that plants do, you know, where they grow a little clone of themselves.’

‘Asexual Reproduction,’ Sam asked quipping an eyebrow at Dean’s massacring of middle-school science.

Dean shrugged, he didn’t care.

Sam privately thought that Dean may be half right. About the Asexuality part, not the little clones part. But he kept that thought to himself. He couldn’t be bothered to explain the intricacies of sexuality to his brother.

It would just go over Dean’s head anyway.

Bobby lifted his head carefully from under the scrapper’s bonnet, putting down his tools and wiping his oil stained hands on his already stained and heavily worn shirt.

‘It’s all well and good giving those two a happy ending,’ he said, ‘but we have to figure out what to do with Mari now that she’s back to normal, or as normal as an angel can be. She can’t just stay here forever. And, by the sounds of things, she can’t exactly pop up to heaven and back as she pleases like Cass can.’

The brothers and Bobby had no immediate idea about what to do. So, they worked on the car in comfortable silence as they considered the various options open to them in dealing with the two angels in Bobby’s study.

A little while later, when the movie moment between the angels was over and it was finally safe to return to the house, Dean went back into Bobby’s via the kitchen.

Were it any other pair Dean would have been worried about coming into the kitchen to find the two angels making up in a more physical way. All over the kitchen table if you could catch his drift. But with Castiel and Mariangela he had a hunch that wouldn’t happen.

Dean was right.

He was getting pretty good at being right lately.

Once he stepped into the house he saw Mariangela and Castiel sitting on the worn couch in the study, having a quiet conversation.

‘I apologise,’ said Castiel. ‘I apologise for all that I have done. For the pain and the suffering I have caused you.’

Castiel continued to apologise, words falling off his tongue in rapid succession. He was doing what Dean would almost class as rambling. But before he could apologise much more Castiel was cut off by Mariangela’s small hand reaching up to cover his mouth, effectively shutting him up instantly.

Once satisfied that Castiel was going to remain silent, Mariangela began to sign to Castiel.

_None of these things are your fault_ , she signed to Castiel, her hand movements slow and deliberate, with no room for misunderstandings. _I am the one who made the decision to support you in the war against Raphael. I am not the only angel to do so and I am not the only angel to be thrown from heaven for it. I have never blamed you for any of these things, if anything I am happy and grateful because you have helped me so much. You are so kind to me. And I do not blame you for the destruction of my vessel. I made the conscious decision to jump in front of the witch. I did this because I do not want to see a world without you in it, Castiel._

She stilled her hands for a moment as she seemed to consider what she was about to sign next.

_I do not want to be in a world without you in it._

Castiel was silent. He grasped Mariangela’s hands and held them softly, thinking about what she had told him. His head was bowed in thought, as if reflecting his reverence for the angel before him.

Mariangela unconsciously mimicked Castiel’s movement, bowing her head in thought. Mariangela seemingly reached a conclusion to her ponderings far sooner than Castiel. She gently placed her hands out of Castiel’s loving touch and stood up, moving so she was standing before him, with a gesture of her hand she asked him to stand up.

He did.

Mariangela walked into the kitchen and stood beside the dining table, nodding her head to Dean in acknowledgement of his presence.  Castiel followed.

‘Hello Dean,’ Castiel said.

‘Hey guys,’ Dean replied casually. He opened the fridge to pull out a cool beer. He held another one up, offering it to Castiel who shook his head. Dean placed the extra beer back in the fridge. Just another one for him to enjoy later.

Mariangela tugged at Castiel’s sleeve gently, to regain his momentarily lost attention. She pointed to his trench coat and mimed taking it off. Castiel obliged. She pointed to his shirt and tie. Castiel looked confused so Mariangela lent forward and began to unbuttoning his shirt for him, easily pulling off his tie and placing it on the back of a dining table chair.

Dean choking a little on his beer, worried that he had ill-placed his trust in the angels.

‘Hey! Keep it rated-PG you two, this is a family environment and I can only hack so much mental scarring.’ Dean said to the angels.

He rolled his eyes in despair when the pair missed the joke and instead looked at him with confusion. Any attempt at humour was wasted on this audience.

Mariangela suddenly motioned with a wave of her hand that she would like Dean to come over towards the table, somewhat reluctantly he did so.

As Castiel continued to unbutton his shirt, Mariangela turned to face Dean. She made a stabbing motion in the air. Dean looked blank so Mariangela turned to Castiel and mimed stabbing him in the back.

‘Stab?’ guessed Dean.

Mariangela shook her head.

‘Attack?’

Another headshake and the repeated stabbing motion.

‘Blade? Knife?’

Mariangela nodded her head triumphantly.

Dean pulled out the large hunting knife he kept in a leather sheath in his boot and held it in front of Mariangela. ‘You want a knife?’ he asked incredulously.

Mariangela nodded once again. Taking the knife from Dean, Mariangela turned towards Castiel, who had just removed his shirt. Mariangela pointed to the table. Unquestioningly Castiel lay on the table.

Dean could see the trust in Castiel’s eyes.

Mariangela placed a hand on Castiel’s chest, carefully touching, almost tracing the sigils still carved deeply into his skin. A large sigil was placed above Castiel’s heart. It was surrounded by a circle of smaller sigils, seemingly enochian in origin. Even though Dean had been present and saw first-hand that the wounds had been caused solely at by the witch’s magic, the wounds looked like the work of a long blade, scalpel-like in its precision.

The wounds were no longer bleeding profusely but they still looked open and raw and angry and bled a slow oozing congealment of blood that seemed anything but healthy. It was as if they were freshly made even though they were now over a week old.

Dean wasn’t the genius that his brother was, but he knew where this situation was going. He went to the cabinet beside the fridge and pulled out some whiskey. He held it out to Mariangela.

She didn’t seem to understand what it was for.

‘To sterilise the blade and the wounds,’ he said as she took the bottle. ‘Cass is still vulnerable in this state. You don’t want to infect him with something a dirty blade.’

Mariangela held the whiskey in her hands as if wielding some unfamiliar tool. But she had seen Sam and Dean do this before, so she poured a generous amount over Castiel's chest, wincing as he reared off the table in pain.

Battlefield doctoring was not known for being particularly fun.

Once Castiel had settled, Mariangela poured the rest of the whiskey on the blade and began the real work. 

Progress was slow. Mariangela would place her hands on Castiel’s chest allowing the sigils to glow briefly with light, a bright orange glow that reminded of Dean of flames and destruction. Then, after every flare of orange, Mariangela would carve a small line or enochian symbol into Castiel’s chest, placing her finger on it until her symbol glowed with a faint blue light and then disappeared, as if nothing had ever been in its place. After every symbol she carved she would check the original sigil, it was still there, unchanged, then she would repeat the process. Until the moment when she caused her sigil to glow and the orange one disappeared in its place.  It was hypnotic to watch.

Carve. Touch. Glow. Check. Carve. Touch. Glow. Check. . Carve. Touch. Glow. Check.

This process continued for hours. And whilst Castiel managed to remain quiet, it was clearly causing a lot of discomfort, so Mariangela would often stop and stroke Castiel’s hair gently, hold his hand or place her forehead to his, comforting him in a way that didn’t require words.

Dean stayed present for a few hours, watching as Mariangela painstakingly replace the witches’ smaller enochian symbols with symbols of her own. But it was clear that Mariangela needed no help from him. Anyway, his attempt at soothing words towards Castiel was nothing compared to Mariangela’s gentle touches.

With his presence not needed, Dean retired from the kitchen for the night.

Night turned once again into morning and after a decent night’s sleep Sam made his way groggily to the kitchen. He and Bobby had been shooed from the kitchen last night by Dean, as Mariangela attempted to perform some sort of angelic surgery in an attempt to heal Castiel. He returned to the kitchen that morning, surprised to see if Mariangela still at work.

‘Hey, do you need an extra pair of hands?’ he asked kindly.

Much to his surprise, Mariangela nodded and handed him the blade she had been working with. Sam held the angel-blood soaked blade in his hand and awaited further instructions. But apparently there were no further instructions; his job was only to hold the knife so that Mariangela had two hands free.

Mariangela placed both, newly free hands, on Castiel’s chest. Alongside the large witches sigil there was now dozens of small enochian symbols carved by her. Mariangela had placed her hands on the witch’s symbol, just above Castiel’s heart. Suddenly, with a violent flash of orange light, it was as if an artery had burst, blood flowed from all the wounds and sigils at an alarming rate, covering Mariangela’s hands, the table, dripping quickly onto the floor. But with a gentle glow of yellow light the blood stopped. Once the light faded Mariangela removed her hands.

Sam, speechless at what he had just witnessed, placed the blood covered knife carefully on the counter and picked up a discarded tea towel handing it to Castiel so he could wipe off some of the blood, Castiel sat up and took the towel, less amazed at what had just happened. He wiped his chest absently. Sam was amazed to see that the witch’s sigil along with all the other carved symbols had completely disappeared. Castiel was once again sans-sigil.

Castiel stood up and placed the bloody towel on the kitchen table. He looked at Mariangela before he opened his arms awkwardly, wrapping them around her in a gentle hug.

‘Thank you,’ he whispered into her ear.

Ending the hug, Castiel began to re-dress, putting on his shirt and somewhat disinterestedly fixing his tie a little. He shrugged on his trench coat and looked generally unaffected by the hours of angelic surgery or whatever it was that he had just experienced.

Sam couldn’t conceal his amazement, ‘How did you do that?’ he asked Mariangela.

Castiel looked at Sam as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

‘She healed me with her grace,’ Castiel answered for Mariangela. ‘Seraphim are peaceful angels. They mean no harm, like the cherubim. But both have potent healing abilities which they use to help in any way they can. To see others in pain is unpleasant for them, something which they wish to end, if it is in their power. If there is ever a story in the news of a spontaneous healing or recovery and humans are heralding it as a gift from God or some sort of miracle it is most likely the work of Seraphim.’

Sam nodded. That explained why Mariangela wanted to heal every vessel the demons had attached themselves to during the carnival attack, and also why she wished to heal him and his brother any time they found themselves injured.

It gave Sam an idea.

He hazarded his suggestion tentatively.

‘Some of the hunters who helped us in the carnival attack were severely injured. Does that mean that you could potentially heal them, Mari? I mean, if you want to,’ he added hastily.

Mariangela nodded, she had no qualms about healing as many people as she could, as long as there would be no violence involved. She looked to Castiel to see what he thought. Castiel was, of course, more wise in the ways of earth than her.

Castiel, much to Mariangela’s disappointment, looked unconvinced.

‘It would require a vast amount of her grace and it may take a long time to recover,’ Castiel said. But he saw Mariangela’s determined expression and acquiesced reluctantly.

‘If you were to heal these hunters I would feel a lot more comfortable if I were allowed to accompany you to each destination. I will be able to make sure you do not strain yourself unduly.’

Mariangela looked thoughtful and then nodded her head. Castiel didn’t conceal his look of relief. He had been expecting some complaint or reluctance.

Sam smiled, ‘That’s great guys. I’ll go explain the plan to Dean and Bobby.’

Needless to say the idea was met with great enthusiasm. Bobby thought it was an excellent idea and began drawing up a list of the hunters injured so severely that they would require healing, those with lesser injuries, broken bones, bruised ribs and those with bruised egos were left to heal themselves.

‘How long will it take to heal all these people? About a week?’ asked Dean.

Both angels shook their heads.

‘No more than half a day,’ said Castiel.

Dean whistled, impressed once again by the power of angels.

They never did cease to surprise.


	47. Chapter 47

Within the hour Bobby had written up a list of hunters Mariangela needed to visit.

Two hunters had been placed in medically induced comas. Their injuries sustained had included broken bones, fractured skulls and damage to their internal organs after they had been thrown about like rag dolls by the witch running the carnival. Another hunter had sustained serious spinal injuries. Best case scenario she would never walk again, worst case scenario she wouldn’t survive the next twenty-four hours.

Those were the hunters who needed to be seen and attended to first.

Their prognosis was not favourable and declining day by day.

Several other hunters needed surgery and bone realignments. Most hunters had enough injuries to keep them out of the hunting game from months.

Let it never be said that demons were known for their love taps.

‘Hey Mari, Cass, what’s going on?’ said Dean, killing some time whilst Sam and Bobby looked at the list.

Castiel turned to Dean, but Mariangela did not.

‘Mari,’ Dean repeated, but he still received no response. He walked over to where the angels stood and tapped her shoulder curiously. She turned around.

‘Hey, Mari, were you daydreaming or something?  I was calling your name.’

Mariangela looked confused. _I am not Mariangela anymore_ , she signed. _Now that she is gone and I have a new vessel, I have no name._

‘What? Surely your new vessel has a name?’ Dean said, confused at her logic.

The Seraphim thought for a moment.

_I do not know_ she signed. _This vessel was merely a body when I entered it. There has been no spirit present in this body for a long time. If the vessel had a name I do not know it._

Dean chuckled.

‘I’m pretty sure the vessel would have had a name,’ he said. ‘Every human has a name.’

Mariangela seemed to take Dean’s comment as new information. In some ways Mariangela still knew very little about the ways of humans.

‘How about you Cass, you stole this body from the hospital, do you know her name?’ Dean asked.

‘I do not, although admittedly I _was_ against the clock. I did not have time to check her chart. She does have writing on the bracelet on her wrist, perhaps there is something of value written there?’

Dean looked at the medical tag on her wrist.

_GARCIA, E._

Not particularly useful. Dean frowned.

‘The Seraph does not associate names with herself personally, but rather with the vessel she inhabits. Perhaps she should receive a name?’ Castiel supplied helpfully.

‘She already has a name!’ Dean said somewhat indignantly, ‘She’s Mariangela. She’s Mari. Come on man, isn’t that enough?’

Mariangela shrugged. It was a human gesture she had picked up. She had grown used to the name Mariangela. It was a good choice.

What’s up guys?’ asked a curious Sam as he walked over to his brother and joined the conversation.

‘Did you know that Mari didn’t think her name was Mari?’ Dean asked.

‘Um, no?’ his brother replied, growing confused.

‘Cass says that she’s been responding to Mari because that was the name of her vessel, not because it was her name. Now that Mari’s gone she says she doesn’t have a name,’ Dean said, summarising succinctly.

‘You know that would explain why she didn’t respond to the hunters who prayed to her during the attack at the carnival. If she didn’t have a name there would be nowhere to direct their prayers.’

‘Well she’s Mari now,’ Dean said firmly. He turned to Mariangela. ‘Listen up. Your name is Mariangela. Not your vessel, _you_. So when I say Mariangela I’m talking to you. When I say Mari, I’m talking to you. You’ve always been Mari to us. You know why?’

Mariangela shook her head.

‘Because the Mariangela we’ve been talking to and living with for months is you, not your vessel. As far as I’m concerned the only Mari I know is the kooky angel who fell to earth because she wasn’t too hot about the apocalypse.’

Mariangela looked accepting of Dean’s reasoning. Sam hoped she was astute enough to know that that his brother’s outburst was as close as Dean could get to admitting that he had grown fond of the angel during her time with them.

‘Hey,’ Sam said instead. ‘Now you have a name do you think we can direct our prayers to you?’

Mariangela looked to Dean.

‘Don’t ask me,’ Dean said, it was beyond him. But his curiosity was piqued.

She looked to Castiel who also looked blank. It seemed he didn’t have an answer for everything.

‘Well I’m going to try,’ Sam decided. He offered a quick silent prayer to Mariangela.

Mariangela turned to him, eyes wide and nodded.

Sam smiled at his exciting new discovery.

‘Are you idjits planning on standing around all day or are you going to let these angels help those hunters who helped save your lives,’ Bobby groused from his desk. He put down the list and rolled his stiff shoulders. Satisfied in his handiwork he poured himself a healthy sized glass of whiskey.

Chastised, the brothers allowed the angels to go on their way, list in hand.

Less than five hours later the angels returned to confirm that all the hunters had been healed successfully and without issue. Only the hunters would know of the angel’s visits. With no seemingly feasible explanation for these instances of spontaneous healing, the doctors and nurses treating the hunters would be speechless. They would scratch their heads and search desperately for an explanation before being forced to chalk it up to a miracle.

Which was of course, exactly what had happened.

With the hunters healed, there were no remaining aftershocks of the carnival. No long-lasting effects that would come back to bite the hunters in the ass. Well at least none that had presented themselves yet.

With the case of the carnival and all its residual loose ends now entirely wrapped up and finished with a pretty pink bow, Castiel and Mariangela found that their presence was no longer needed in Bobby’s house.

‘I plan to return to heaven,’ Castiel confided to Mariangela, Sam, Dean and Bobby. ‘I must try to persuade Raphael that restarting the apocalypse is not the best course of action for the angels.’

‘Will that work?’ asked Bobby, sceptical.

‘I do not think it likely, but I must try. Heaven may end up in an all-out civil-war. I must at least make an attempt to stop it from happening.’

_It will not be safe for Castiel to remain in heaven if the threat of war is imminent,_ Mariangela signed. _It will be safer if he spends his time on earth._

‘There are not many angels who dare tread soil with mud-monkeys,’ Castiel added. ‘Regardless it would not be logical to remain here. The angels are well aware of my dealings with you and what we have done together. If any angels come looking for me this is the first place that they would check. Mari’s previous vessel owned a small apartment. I plan to mark it with enochian wards to guard it from other angels.’

The three men understood. It would be far safer if Castiel laid low for a while, especially with the warring tension in heaven.

‘We must take our leave,’ Castiel said.

With no further explanation Castiel and Mariangela disappeared.

Angels really needed to work on their conversation skills and social etiquette. Disappearing into thin air was not looked highly upon when in a middle of a conversation.

Dean sighed.

‘That’s just friggin’ great,’ he said. ‘An angelic love nest to add to the hand holding and soppy-eyed staring. You know it’s a good job that they’ve got that freaky Alan Rickman in Dogma, Ken-Doll attitude or they might have to deal with the flapping of little angel wings.’

Sam snorted at Dean’s rant, then laughed as Dean failed to dodge the hardback book that Bobby threw at him muttering, ‘idjit,’ under his breath.

The rest of the week passed uneventfully, Castiel and Mariangela popped in twice to confirm that Mariangela’s apartment was where they would be staying and that it was properly defended.

On the second visit Castiel gave Bobby and the brother’s the address of the apartment in case they ever needed to find it, before popping away again to do whatever a couple of awkwardly lovey-dovey angels did in their downtime.

Sam suggested wing maintenance.

Dean suggested braiding each other’s hair.

Bobby suggested they both shut the hell up.


	48. Chapter 48

Life goes on.

As eventful as the case concerning the witch and the demon carnival had been, it didn’t stop other cases from appearing.

Sometimes it felt like nothing ever would.

Sam and Dean only spent another few days at Bobby’s before another case demanded their attention. A poltergeist was tormenting the students of an old school in South Carolina. It was wreaking havoc and running generally, amok. It would be an easy case, a simple salt and burn with a precautionary cleansing ritual of the school ought to do it.

Sam and Dean had just finished packing and refuelling the Impala when Sam received the phone call. It was to his main cell phone, but the number registered as unknown. Curiosity and suspicion aroused Sam answered the phone with a sharp, ‘Who are you and how did you get this number?’

There was a quick chuckle from the other end of the line.

‘Hey to you too, sweetheart,’ came the reply, but the voice was weak and barely audible.

‘Carol?’ Sam said.

‘You got me. I hoped you’d pick up.’

Sam could tell from the lack of smart-mouthing and flirtatious jokes that something was wrong.

‘What happened?’ he asked.

The line was silent for a moment.

‘Hey, Carol? You still with me? What went wrong?’

‘I’m here sweetie, just not in the best shape of my life, my insides are now my outsides. Not as fun as you might think.’

‘Hey, hang in there, Dean and I we’ll-‘

Carol cut him off, ‘You’re sweet Sam, but you’ll never make in time. Even if you manage to force your brother on a plane it’d still take four hours to get here. I don’t know if I even have four minutes. I’ll be dead before you’re passing state lines.’

‘Carol-‘

‘Sush boy, I don’t want your sympathy, I need your word that you’ll finish this case for me. I’ve left all my research in the trunk of an old Dodge Ram I stole, it’s got Californian plates, and it’s in the parking lot of the McConnell’s Motel.’

‘Please-’

‘Just drop whatever you’re working on and get your ass to Salem, don’t you worry about me,’ Carol laughed weakly but it turned into a violent choking. Once it was over she said weakly, ‘I’m serious Sam, don’t worry about me. I probably ain’t going to a better place but it sure as hell can’t be any worse than this one.’

Sam didn’t laugh. He was too distressed.

Dean saw his brother’s distress. He couldn’t hear the conversation but he had the gist of what was going on. This wasn’t the first call they had received from a dying hunter. Only this time he knew what to do. He had a way to help.

Dean snatched the phone urgently from Sam.

‘Hey Carol, it’s Dean. I’m guessing we probably don’t have much time, so you need to listen to me,’ Dean’s voice was low and urgent. ‘You need to pray.’

Sam didn’t need the phone to imagine Carol’s laughter, despite her injuries.

Carol had never been one for bible stories.

Dean ignored her and continued to talk, ‘I don’t give a damn that you’ve never prayed before. Start now. Pray to an angel, Mariangela. Tell her the Winchester’s sent you. She won’t speak but she’ll heal. Just do it.’

Dean’s jaw twitched as he heard the phone line disconnect.

She had hung up on him.

Dean could throw Sam’s phone to the ground, crush it into a million insignificant pieces from frustration. He was just as worried about Carol as Sam was, but they both knew that there was a damn good chance that Carol wouldn’t pray out of stubbornness. Dean hoped to hell, that for once in her life, Carol would do as she had been asked.

The next ten minutes were spent in strained silence. Sam had taken the cell phone back from Dean and had tried to call Carol several times, but to no avail. Bobby, who had ventured out of his house to see why the brother’s had still not left his yard, was quickly informed about the situation. His face turned grim. All three waited in silence in the hopes that the phone in Sam’s hand would ring. As if their collective gazes focussing on the phone would somehow inspire it to ring.

The cell phone never did ring.

But there was a flutter of wings and an unmistakable voice which said, ‘Oh my god, never ever do that again. I’m going to hurl.’

Sam, Dean and Bobby looked up to see the ungraceful scene of Carol puking behind one of Bobby’s scrappers. They were torn between ecstatic relief and mild revulsion. Mariangela on the other hand, merely rubbed Carol’s back until the heaving stopped.

Once over the unpleasantness of travelling long distance courtesy of _Air Angel_ , Carol had a moment to come to terms with the fact that she truly was healed and very much alive. Her smile could have lit up a whole city.

Gratefully Carol was invited into Bobby’s for a celebratory beer. Never one to turn down free alcohol, Carol accepted immediately. The three men and Mariangela came too. When Carol finally had a cool beer in her hand and a soft seat on her butt, she was ready to tell the men what had happened.

‘I was just lying there,’ Carol began, ‘Some sort of hex or curse, or whatever those witches did to me, had cut open my belly like they had used a blade. I wasn’t joking when I said that my insides were my outsides. I was not a pretty sight. I made a pretty target though.’

She flashed her million dollar smile and took a sip of her beer.

‘I knew I was a sitting duck just lying there, my damn gun had been thrown to the ground at the other side of the room. I just managed to drag my sorry ass out of the room where the witches were and barricade the door before the spell started to take effect.

One minute I was looking for something to use as a weapon, the next I was laying on the ground in a pool of my own blood. I called you because I sure as hell wasn’t going to let those witches get away with murdering me without someone trying to avenge me. But then you told me to pray. I thought I had gone crazy, started hearing things.  But, I thought what the hell, I’ve always been a gambler, I’ll try my luck and pray. What else could go wrong? Then boom! Up pops this angel!

I thought she was a Reaper at first but she took my hand, there was a flash of light and she healed me. I couldn’t believe it. I was as good as new. Boy, those witches were in for one hell of a shock when they saw me coming for them. They were pretty beat up already, but I finished them off quickly.’

The men listened on, enthralled. Carol was ever the story teller, and if there was anything that hunters enjoyed more than hunts, it was hearing about other hunter’s hunts.

Carol drained the rest of the beer before she continued.

‘I might of gotten rid of those witches a little quicker if sweet cheeks here didn’t just stand and watch,’ she said, pointing to Mariangela.

Mariangela looked a little confused. As far as she was aware her cheeks were not sweet. She looked to the men for assistance.

‘Don’t mind that,’ Dean said, ‘Mari’s more of a peaceful angel. She doesn’t really do combat. Healing’s more her thing.’

Carol raised an eyebrow before waling over to Bobby’s fridge and cracking open another beer.

‘I’ll have to keep that in mind.’

With that the conversation had shifted to Mariangela.

‘Hey Mari,’ Bobby said. ‘Seen Cass lately?’

 _He is engaged in discussions in heaven at the moment_ Mariangela signed.

Carol looked on in mild curiosity.

‘Are they going well?’ asked Sam.

Mariangela was motionless for a moment, then sadly shook her head.

‘Is Cass safe?’ there was a tinge of worry in Sam’s voice.

Mariangela nodded. _For now_ she signed.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, catching up with Carol, hearing about other hunters, other cases. Although hunters were a small community, often bumping into each other, it had been far too long since Bobby and the brother’s had seen Carol. They exchanged stories for a while longer before Carol seemed to remember something.

‘You know, I know a hunter up in Canada. He’d been attacked by a werewolf,’ she said. ‘He hasn’t been turned, just… mauled. Yeah, I suppose you could call it that. He’ll pull through but the doctors don’t think he’s ever going to walk again. Do you think your angel would be interested in paying him a call?’

The team and Carol looked at Mariangela who just shrugged then nodded. _I’d rather heal than fight_ she signed.

‘Awesome, I suppose there’s no time like the present,’ said Dean. The proud smile he was unable to conceal showed how pleased he was at his ability to decipher Mariangela’s sign language.

Mariangela smiled back gently before disappearing in a ruffle of feathers.

‘Well,’ Carol said, ‘there goes my ride.’

 ‘I can drive you to-‘Dean began, but Carol cut him off.

‘Sweetheart, getting back is half the fun. Now that damn coven is gone I think I deserve a enjoyment.’ Carol winked. ‘It’s been far too long since I jacked a car anyway.’

Carol picked up her coat and said her goodbyes. The team smiled and waved as she left Bobby’s.

There was a moment’s silence then the faint sound of a car engine.

‘Son of a bitch,’ Bobby swore, ‘That damn woman’s stole my car. Again.’

Sam and Dean laughed; taking Carol’s leaving as their cue to leave too.

‘See you later Bobby,’ Dean and Sam said, in inadvertent unison, waving goodbye to Bobby as they stepped into Impala.

They slowly made their way out of the scrapyard.


	49. Chapter 49

Weeks passed by, cases were solved and Sam and Dean Winchester drove around the country doing what they did best, the family business.

One week into their most recent endeavour however, they had reached a little bump in the road. A case they were working on was going nowhere. Witnesses were useless. Cops were clueless.  Books weren’t yielding any results and the internet was just as unforthcoming. Bobby had been unable to provide any answers and visiting libraries had been just as unproductive.

Sam and Dean decided that a little angelic input would be required. Or at least it couldn’t hurt.

‘Hey Cass,’ Dean prayed, ‘Sammy and I are a little stuck on a case, so why don’t you come on down here and give us a hand?’

With the customary fluttering of wings, Castiel arrived, Mariangela by his side.

Dean only raised an eyebrow, deciding not to pass comment on Castiel’s sidekick. Instead he greeted both angels and got right down to business.

‘There’s been attacks all around town,’ Dean began, ‘clearly zombie attacks, but the zombie’s graves are still hallowed ground, whereas usually, you know, _Dawn of the Dead’s_ grave’s would be unhallowed, all the grass and life around it dead.’

‘The bodies may have undergone a powerful cleansing ritual,’ Castiel suggested.

‘We’d thought about that? But why?’ Sam asked.

‘I have seen instances where powerful spell casters attempt to purge the undead’s resting place of any malevolent intentions. It is an attempt to keep the zombie’s actions… pure. Of course, as you are well aware, it would not work. The undead are not creatures of purity.’

Dean turned to Sam quickly, ‘I know who’s behind the attacks,’ they said in unison.

Both brothers frowned; each had wanted to claim the glory for finally solving the case.

There was a second of silent impasse.

‘I know how to stop him,’ Dean said with a victorious smirk.

Sam grumbled a little, Dean was not going to let this go for a while. Hunters loved zombie stories, and Dean had just bagged himself a lifetime supply of bragging rights by figuring out how to end this case.

Sam, whilst annoyed he hadn’t reached a solution to the case first, was never one to forget his manners. He turned to the angels. ‘Thanks-’ he began, but there was a flutter of wings as Mariangela disappeared from sight.

‘Is everything okay?’ Sam asked, brow furrowed.

‘Yes, everything is fine Sam,’ Castiel replied. ‘News of an angel who can perform miraculous feats of healing has spread quickly through the hunting community. It seems that if a hunter has sustained a grievous or life-threatening injury they pray to Mariangela.’

‘Oh. Wow.’ Sam replied.

That was unexpected.

‘They refer to her as the ‘Angel of Hunters’, although I do not believe it is a strictly accurate title.’

Accurate title or not, there was no missing the thinly concealed pride in Castiel’s voice. He was impressed with Mariangela’s adaption to life on earth, and the rapport she had built with hunters.

‘So Mari’s doing well on earth,’ Dean said. ‘Is everything going as well for you in heaven?’

Castiel seemed reluctant to respond. Thankfully, for Castiel at least, he was saved from answering by Mariangela’s return.

‘Did the healing go well?’ Castiel asked the newly returned angel. He signed the question to Mariangela as he said it.

‘What’s up with the signing on your end Cass?’ Dean asked a little concerned. ‘I mean I know you sound like you’ve been gargling gravel, but you always sound like that. Is something wrong?’

Castiel shook his head.

‘I merely wish to make Mariangela feel as included as possible,’ he explained. ‘I have decided to start signing in return to Mariangela. That way we will more quickly learn and develop the sign language we are trying to form.’

Sam thought that it made perfect sense and would have loved to enquire some more, but it appeared that there was no more time to do so.

‘I am very sorry Sam and Dean,’ Castiel said. ‘I must go. I am needed in heaven immediately. I am sorry I cannot assist you in your case anymore.’

‘Hey,’ Sam said, ‘we’ve got all we need to know now. Dean and I can get rid of some zombie’s fine on our own.’

‘Yeah,’ chimed in Dean. ‘Leave it to us. We’ll gank those sons of bitches before they can even see it coming.’

Seemingly satisfied, the angels left.

True to their word the brothers managed to gank the zombies with surprising ease. They didn’t even have to get in a fight. No guns required. Just a little reverse spell casting, a little grave desecration and the case was over. The culprit behind raising the zombies found himself arrested by the local authorities and Sam and Dean found themselves with time left to catch some dinner.

The food in the diner was warm, filling and tasty. The beer was cool and the conversation between the brothers was jovial. It was a good end to what had been an easy end to a hunt, all things considered. Dean was in a good mood, so good in fact that he tried his luck with the beautiful server who had been taking their orders.

Judging by the doe eyes she had been giving one of the other servers, Sam felt their server was never going to be interested in Dean but Sam was never one to miss a chance at embarrassing his brother.

The server seemed oblivious to Dean’s advances but she smiled politely and said she would fetch them a fresh couple of beers.

Sam snorted at his brother’s frustration.

‘I don’t know man,’ Dean said. ‘Maybe she’s just not into me.’

Sam smirked as he stabbed a piece of lettuce on his fork and ate it.

‘Yeah, that’s too bad,’ he replied, his deadpan failed to belay any humour to Dean. ‘I mean it’s crazy that Cass can get a girlfriend and you can’t even get a girls number.’

Dean flushed embarrassedly, ‘Shut up and eat your damn rabbit food, Sammy.’

Sam laughed and after a while Dean did too. As the evening turned to nightfall the brothers knew that the world would always be a little safer with their two guardian angels looking over them, and looking after each other.


End file.
